Breastfeeding helps restore the infant gut microbiome and reduces infections in C-section babies

Good news for babies needing to be born by C-section!

Recent research shows that breastfeeding helps restore the gut microbiome of infants born by C-section. It also lowered the risk of infection in early life — particularly respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea.

The research by Guo et al (2020) was published in BMC Pediatrics.

Samples from 41 infants were studied at 6 time points (1, 3, 7 days after birth and 1, 3, 6 months after birth).

The babies were assigned to four groups according to how they were born, C-section, vaginal birth, breastfed or formula-fed.

According to the abstract, in babies born by C-section, “Bifidobacterium was less abundant. But the delay in gut microbiota (GM) establishment could be partially restored by breastfeeding. The frequency of respiratory tract infection and diarrhoea consequently decreased.”

Science reference

Guo, C., Zhou, Q., Li, M. et al. Breastfeeding restored the gut microbiota in caesarean section infants and lowered the infection risk in early life. BMC Pediatr20, 532 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-020-02433-x