TWIW 15: The bacteria helping to build your baby

This Week In Wellness a mother’s womb may not be as sterile as we were lead to believe. Researchers from the University of Western Australia have found that the majority of babies are exposed to bacteria in the womb and have even postulated that these bacteria may play an important role in development.

Lead author Lisa Stinson says that “Over the last decade, numerous studies have detected bacterial DNA in amniotic fluid and first-pass meconium [baby’s first poop], challenging the long-held assumption that the womb is sterile,” In this study Published in Frontiers in Microbiology her team carefully collected amniotic fluid samples from 50 healthy women undergoing planned caesarean deliveries, and found that nearly all (36/43 viable samples) contained bacterial DNA, despite none of the women or babies having any signs of infection. What’s more, all 50 newborns had bacteria in their first poop. The researchers concluded that this ‘fetal microbiome’ would likely have a significant impact on the developing immune system, gut, and brain.

https://blog.frontiersin.org/2019/06/05/microbiology-fetal-microbiome-womb-bacteria/?utm_source=ad&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=ba_sci_fmicb

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.01124/full

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