Quote:
Originally Posted by JennaW  And apparently the antibiotics given will kill all bacteria in the birth canal which is no good because there is some good bacteria that plays an important role?
|
This is the reason I would be opposed to receiving the IV antibiotic treatment....one of the key benefits of a vaginal birth is that the baby's sterile gastrointestinal tract is colonized with the mother's bacteria. The quality of the development of the baby's intestinal microbiota is influenced directly and dramatically by the type of delivery.
Having antibiotics during the birth would be extremely upsetting to me! Lesser but real concerns would be the potential for all sorts of hassles from the get-go, for instance with thrush. But I really, really want my babies to have that gut colonization from the vaginal birth, and after that to be exclusively breastfed to have that lower gut pH established right away, and have their best odds chance of getting the full benefit of it. (As I understand it, the odds go down with early supplementation, and breastfed infants who receive supplements develop a gut flora more like formula-fed infants, even though they are breastfed....)
I guess the quality of the initial colonization depends on the condition of the various moms in question--it's not a constant or uniform "benefit." (Although better to be colonized by the mother's tract than by environmental microbes from the air in a hospital, or the staff, or other infants in a nursery, etc.) Some guts are better/healthier than others, so having a healthy flora BEFORE birthing is a worthy goal...not just ruling out GBS. I wonder sometimes if there's a connection here to allergies, "leaky gut syndrome," etc. And to which breastfed babies tend to do better in terms of fighting off illness, etc. (Because obviously, not all exclusively breastfed babies are "created equal," either.)
It seems too hard, though, to know what factors weigh in the most.....conscious preconception nutrition on the part of both parents, prenatal nutrition, an excellent balance of beneficial flora for gut colonization, exclusive breastfeeding, delaying or avoiding vaccinations versus vaccinating on schedule from the beginning.... Which factor tips the scale???
Seems like I've read stuff over the last 2 years or so about probiotic therapy & colic, too, which would make sense.
)
Follow Mothering