From Your Health Journal…..”I have always had a lot of respect for Alice Park at Time magazine. Her articles are mostly health related, and very informative / educational. So, if the opportunity arises to promote one of her great articles, I try to do it, and bring traffic here way. Recently, she wrote an article called Connection between dirty diapers, childhood health. ‘C’ sections and breast feeding can have lifelong effects on a baby’s health. Not to creep any of you out, but it is about the bugs, or the bacteria that live in the gut to help digest food and, it turns out, perform a host of other necessary bodily functions – as these children have a different set of microbes. A number of studies have discussed the hidden universe of these microbes, and the role they may play in the risk of conditions ranging from asthma to autism, obesity and cancer. So, there is a link between having a ‘C’ section and having one of these conditions, whereas a baby with a vaginal delivery is exposed to a world of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens as they pass through the birth canal – almost like their first immunization against the bugs. Please take the time to read Ms. Park’s Time magazine article via CNN (link provided below). It is beautifully written, and easy to follow.”
From the article…..
Cesarean sections and breast feeding can have lifelong effects on a baby’s health, and researchers may have uncovered why.
It’s all about the bugs. Or, to be more precise, the bacteria that live in the gut to help digest food and, it turns out, perform a host of other important functions.
In a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers led by Anita Kozyrskyj found that babies born by C-section harbored a different set of microbes in their digestive tracts than those born vaginally, and that infants who were breast-fed had a different recipe of bacteria in their guts than those who were given formula.
“Our goal is to show that some decision about elective C-sections may cause changes that parents can’t see but nevertheless affect development,” says Kozyrskyj.
The findings add to the growing number of studies that expose more of the hidden universe of these microbes and the role they may play in the risk of conditions ranging from asthma to autism, obesity and cancer. The researchers studied 24 babies and compared the bacteria found in stool samples collected when the infants were 3 months old.
Previous studies have linked cesarean delivery to a higher risk of asthma, diabetes and obesity, but the reason wasn’t clear. Now, Kozyrskyj and her colleagues, led by Meghan Azad, suggest that at least part of that heightened risk may be due to the microbes colonizing the babies’ guts.
During vaginal delivery, for example, babies are baptized to the world of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens as they pass through the birth canal; birth is, in a sense, their first immunization against the bugs they are likely to encounter in their new environment as their still developing immune systems get to work taking stock of the microbes. Babies pick up the microbial content of their mother’s gut.
To read the full article…..Click here