That doesn’t make it not a study. They collected more than a thousand samples from control and experimental participants in accordance with a completely accepted research design.

I agree with almost everything you said - every microbe has its place, yes. But vaginal microbiome has several. It both keeps the vagina healthy and seeds the newborn during the birthing process. This is an attempt to reintroduce it where it is missing, not to introduce it into a different system of the body where it…

Actually there has been quite a bit of research showing that during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy the vaginal flora changes to mimic that of gut flora. Additionally, there has been some quite good research on this despite Jez’s lack of science reporting:

It’s a precursor to a larger study.

It’s not “unspecified”- the gauze was inserted during the labor process, just before birth. They didn’t have the women walking around for 9 months with a piece of gauze in their vaginas.

The uterus is actually a sterile environment, so the first bacteria the baby comes in contact with is either vaginal or from the skin in the case of c sections. These are the sources of our gut bacteria, which actually play an important role in our health.

How do you think the baby comes out of your vagina? In shrink wrap? Your vaginal secretions are ALL OVER the baby. It’s by design.

If we rejected or accepted studies based on how they were reported in the popular media, no scientific progress would be made. Ever.

The women were screened for diseases before being made participants. And the point is that the baby would be going through the “ick” if not for the cesarean birth!

We are getting more and more women requesting this where I work and we (midwives, doctors and theatre team) do all we can to help facilitate it. We are also doing delayed cord clamping at section (when it is safe to do so) and skin to skin in theatres. It is great, good for babies, good for families. What is not to…

We are just beginning to understand exactly how intimately (no pun intended) the symbiotic relationship we have with the bacteria that live all over us, and constitute multiple pounds of our body weight, impacts our health, and all signs point to ‘very much so’. Colonizing C-section babies with the bacteria they would…

well, if they’re born vaginally, they’re getting a hefty dose of it in every crease and crevice. Nothing gross or weird about that.

They actually *all* did pre- c-section. That’s the point.

It’s not a trend! It’s a goddamn scientific study.

I’m baffled and dismayed by all the negative responses.

Why? The birth canal has beneficial bacteria that helps build a baby’s immune system and microbiome. It is known that babies born vaginally have a larger microbiome than babies born via c-section. We know that good bacteria and varied microbiome are associated with positive health outcomes, including strong immune…

Not the microbiome! Amniotic fluid being sterile and ORs / c-sections as well, means that c-section babies start behind the curve on cultivating theirs.

Unlike many (many many many) birthing trends, I’m actually cool with this one. I mean, I get being squicked out, but the idea has some solid merit. Most babies pass through the vagina and get well and truly rubbed in its juices during the birthing process; that’s not gross, right? Why is this? Colonization by the…

Actually Jezebel you are kind of full of shit. This is a technique that comes out of more than a “boutique study.” NYU researchers have published and have been highlighted in more than one news source for the results of swabbing C-section born children in order to create the microbiome, e.g. gut flora, who diversity…