According to the latest Public Health France survey on the subject, published in 2021, the rate of cesarean section in France has been stable since 2016 and concerns 21.4% of deliveries. However, it is now known that this method of delivery disrupts the development of the newborn’s intestinal microbiota. Indeed, babies born vaginally are exposed to their mother’s vaginal and fecal flora. by their passage into the genital spherewhere babies born by cesarean section, de facto, escape this passage. Consequence: as the child grows, he may experience certain “after-effects” such as asthma or chronic inflammation of the intestine.
A small sample of maternal feces in a bottle of breast milk
Precisely, this is oral fecal transplantationthe principle of which is to dilute a very small sample of maternal excrement in a bottle of breast milk, then to give this mixture to the newborn baby.
An improvement noted from the 2nd day of birth
The study, the first results of which were published last week at IDWeek, a meeting of infectious disease specialists and epidemiologists in Los Angeles, California, is the first randomized controlled trial to test the concept of “poo milkshake”. The preliminary results confirm the researchers’ hypothesis that a small transplant of fecal matter is enough to have a positive effect on the infant’s microbiome.
An experience that should definitely not be reproduced at home
To reach this conclusion, the scientists mixed a liquid containing 3.5 milligrams of maternal stool with milk, and administered the formula to 15 babies during their first feeding. 6 other babies, constituting the control group, received a placebo. However, if the two groups had similar microbial diversity at birth, from the second day of life, there was a real difference between the two groupsa difference that persists until age 6 months, around the time babies start eating solid foods. Of course, the researchers specify that this experiment should absolutely not be carried out at home.
