Caesarean birth link to asthma lacks proof

Conclusion Overall, this research provides some information on the amount of particular bacteria species present in the gut in the first few months of life of an extremely small number of babies. The study does not provide any evidence that the mode of delivery or feeding pattern was the cause of the bacterial levels measured. Neither does the study provide any evidence that being born by caesarean delivery leads to developing asthma later on in life, as the headline in the Mail Online suggests. The researchers note that these findings are part of an ongoing study and future reporting will provide more information. There are some limitations to this study some of which are noted by the authors, including: Study design Researchers based their analysis on one measurement taken at one point in time (when the baby was three to four months old). The researchers note that previous studies suggest gut profiles vary widely in the first year of life. A more comprehensive study would have taken measurements at a number of time points of the child’s life, to determine if any changes in gut bacteria occurred. However, even then it would be difficult to pin an exact cause on the levels seen which are likely to be influenced by multiple factors. Study size Only 24 babies were included in the study. A study of this size is too small to reliably detect any differences between natural and caesarean deliveries, and formula and breastfed babies, and even less so to detect any differences acc...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Pregnancy/child Source Type: news