Vaginal Seeding: Doctors Warn Parents Against This New Trend

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Every now and then, a new fad involving childbirth and delivery comes along, which suddenly wows mothers all over the world with its so-called ‘benefits’. Take, for example, eating the placenta. This was a popular trend recently and people believed that it could boost the mommy’s energy levels and increase her breast milk quantity (1).

Similarly, at present, there’s another fad called ‘vaginal seeding’. Though it sounded rather beneficial upon its introduction, it is now something the doctors are warning against.

In This Article

What Does Vaginal Seeding Mean?

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Vaginal seeding, to put it simply, is the swabbing of a baby born out of a C-section with the fluids released from the mother’s vagina during labor (2). It might sound icky and gross to a lot of people, but it is believed by some that this practice can help keep C-sections babies healthy. The entire process of vaginal seeding is carried out in a bid to transfer healthy bacteria or ‘microbiome’ from a mother to her child’s clean, bacteria-free gut.

Before a child is born, their digestive tract is sterile, which means it doesn’t contain the healthy bacteria that thrive in the gut of adults and help in the maintenance of good health. However, when babies are born vaginally, they get a dose of this microbiome as they get covered in vaginal fluids while entering into this world. Unfortunately, babies born with the help of a C-section do not get their first exposure to microbiome that’s not their own. To make sure that infants get their dose of these ‘healthy’ bacteria is why mothers now are taking to vaginal seeding.

In order to bring this about, the mother’s vagina is swabbed with sterile gauze. This fluid-soaked gauze is then rubbed on the baby’s nose, mouth and skin a minute or two after they are born. The reason for the popularity of vaginal seeding lies in a recent study, which stated that vaginal seeding posed health benefits for the baby such as lower chances of asthma, immune disorders and skin conditions (3).

Why Have Doctors Turned Against It?

Recently, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a statement warning against vaginal seeding. The association clearly mentioned that the procedure is not recommended at least until further studies have been carried out to prove its so-called ‘benefits.’ As of now, OB-GYNs believe that this procedure comes with a set of risks, which includes the possible transference of infectious diseases as well as harmful bacteria from the mother to the child.

The association further went on to say that if new mothers insist on vaginal seeding, doctors in the hospital should take precautionary measures to ensure that it is indeed safe. This means carrying out certain tests to detect the presence of certain diseases such as herpes, chlamydia, group B streptococci and gonorrhea. The exposure to these diseases via vaginal seeding can cause irreversible damage in babies.

The statement also revealed that research has been conducted regarding vaginal seeding, which led to the discovery that this process is not necessary. Not only do babies develop their own microbiomes through breastfeeding, the difference between the gut bacteria of vaginally delivered babies and C-sec babies also disappears after 6 months. Another study too has confirmed these findings. Researchers were able to prove that there were no differences in the gut bacteria of C-section and vaginally born 7-year olds (4).

Furthermore, the link between increased asthma risk and non-exposure to microbiomes from the mother has not been clearly established either. Doctors have stressed that multiple other factors can lead to increased asthma risk.

Therefore, instead of jumping on the vaginal seeding bandwagon, doctors recommend that you simply breastfeed your child to help them get the right dose of microbiomes. As you know breastfeeding has tons of benefits and is also a natural and safer option.

Stay safe!

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