E-Mail
Credit: McMaster University
Hamilton, ON (May 10, 2021) - It is well known that each person s gut bacteria is vital for digestion and overall health, but when does that gut microbiome start?
New research led by scientists from McMaster University and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin in Germany has found it happens during and after birth, and not before.
McMaster researchers Deborah Sloboda and Katherine Kennedy examined prenatal stool (meconium) samples collected from 20 babies during breech Cesarean delivery. The key takeaway from our study is we are not colonized before birth. Rather, our relationship with our gut bacteria emerges after birth and during infancy, said Kennedy, first author of the study and a PhD student, whose findings are published in