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Bacterial Baptism: Scientific, Medical, and Regulatory Issues Raised by Vaginal Seeding of C-Section-Born Babies
Bacterial Baptism: Scientific, Medical, and Regulatory Issues Raised by Vaginal Seeding of C-Section-Born Babies
- Source :
- J Law Med Ethics
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2019.
-
Abstract
- Several lines of evidence suggest that children born via Cesarean section (C-section) are at greater risk for adverse health outcomes including allergies, asthma and obesity. Vaginal seeding is a medical procedure in which infants born by C-section are swabbed immediately after birth with vaginal secretions from the mother. This procedure has been proposed as a way to transfer the mother's vaginal microbiome to the child, thereby restoring the natural exposure that occurs during vaginal birth that is interrupted in the case of babies born via C-section. Preliminary evidence indicates partial restoration of microbes. However, there is insufficient evidence to determine the health benefits of the procedure. Several studies, including trial, are currently underway. At the same time, in the clinic setting, doctors are increasingly being asked to by expectant mothers to have their babies seeded. This article reports on the current research on this procedure and the issues it raises for regulators, researchers, physicians, and patients.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Baptism
medicine.medical_specialty
Vaginal birth
Skin Absorption
Medical procedure
Mothers
Health benefits
Health outcomes
Article
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Humans
Medicine
030212 general & internal medicine
Vaginal secretion
Clinical Trials as Topic
Cesarean Section
United States Food and Drug Administration
business.industry
Obstetrics
Microbiota
Health Policy
Infant, Newborn
General Medicine
United States
Body Fluids
Expectant mothers
Issues, ethics and legal aspects
030104 developmental biology
Vagina
Vaginal microbiome
Female
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 1748720X and 10731105
- Volume :
- 47
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c27cd1a0d69ba9dd00250240cf225a7e
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110519897732