What I WIsh I KNew As An Expecting Mother
What I wish I knew as an expecting mother:
When becoming a new mother, we are inundated with information.........buy this product....no this one is safer......co-sleeping is best for baby, but wait your baby will develop less independently... It goes on and on...
The reality is, everyone parents differently because we have very different life circumstances. Some mothers cannot breastfeed and need to feed their babies formula, and many other parenting choices are shaped by the family's cultural beliefs as well as financial capabilities.
If there was one thing I wish I was better prepared for, it would be to have understood the consequences of having a c-section. Research links this birth mode to greater risk for disease such as asthma and obesity. While this birth mode was not what I had planned, I embraced whatever route would safely deliver my baby (and I still would have today). But I was much less informed on the significance of the microbiome at that time than I am now. I did not understand that this bacterial ecology, the majority of which is inherited at birth, plays such a key role in the development of the immune system.
Furthermore, that the development of the immune system by this bacterial milieu happens in such a short window, roughly the first month of life. While each of us has somewhat of a unique microbiome, there does appear to be a pattern of colonization that contributes to wellness rather than pathology.
Research widely acknowledges antibiotic exposure in utero, c-section delivery, and formula feeding as the major disruptors to the microbiome. Rather than experience defeat when presented with any or all of these however, we can arm ourselves with many tools to help restore any balance lost. When I first became a mother, I knew very little in the way of vaginal seeding -a practice of swabbing the mother's vaginal fluids at birth and then swabbing baby's mouth and skin with these in order to transfer critical bacteria for the development of baby's immune system. While only one small study to date supports the use of this practice in restoring the microbiome disruption caused by c-section, and/or antibiotic use standard during c-section, this practice is generally accepted as safe when mom is properly screened in advance.
Probiotic and prebiotic supplementation during and after pregnancy is also well-studied to positively impact the microbiome. Breastmilk contains HMOs (Human Milk Oligosaccharides), prebiotic sugars that preferentially feed commensal or "good" bacteria allowing them to proliferate to prime the immune system. When breastfeeding is not possible, donor breastmilk offers an alternative that, while pasteurized and thus without the benefit of live probiotics, still delivers these prebiotics intact. There are also many quality probiotics on the market that can be taken by mom and/or given to baby via adding to formula or breastmilk and many formula companies are catching up and including both probiotics and prebiotics in their recipes.
Seek support from you health professional in selecting the right probiotic for you and your baby and to determine if vaginal seeding is a safe option for you. And remember......mom's nutrition impacts both her and her baby's microbiome beginning with pregnancy through postpartum if she is breastfeeding.
Book a free 30 minute consult with Carla to see how Nutrition Therapy can set both you and baby up for optimal health!