Vaginal Seeding and its Potential Risks

Abstract

Caesarean sections are procedures that have saved many babies lives and mothers included. However, the increasing numbers of babies born through C-sections have been observed with the increasing prevalence of asthma and obesity among children. Some studies have even linked them together, hinting that this may be related to the babies not being exposed to the mother’s vaginal microbiota; which has been proved to play a role in the development of the new-born’s digestive and immune system. This has led to the development of a new procedure known as “Vaginal Seeding” which aims to mimic the process of normal vaginal delivery, by taking a swab from the mother’s vaginal fluid and spreading it on the baby directly after the Csection is performed. The demand for vaginal seeding has been increasing worldwide and doctors are alarmed that mothers may be exposing their babies to potentially harmful bacteria found in the mother’s genitalia that they are not aware of and hence, leading then to a deadly fate. Mothers are being asked to weigh out the risks and to sustain from partaking in this procedure until adequate amount of research proves it to be safe and beneficial.