Warnings about vaginal ‘seeding’

New mothers of babies born by Caesarian Section have been warned against the controversial trend of ‘vaginal seeding’.

The practice involves taking a swab from the mother’s vagina and rubbing it over the baby’s mouth, face and skin after birth.  This is done in the hope of boosting their gut bacteria and reducing the risk of allergies or obesity.  In theory, vaginal seeding might restore the microbiota of infants born by CS to a more ‘natural’ state and decrease the risk of disease.

An editorial in the BMJ says that though there is only a ‘small risk of harm’ from the practice even that ‘cannot be justified without evidence of benefit’.  The paper says that healthcare professionals should not perform the practice and any women who wish to perform the practice themselves should be fully informed of the potential risks.  The authors also advise that health professionals should be aware that vaginal seeding is increasingly common and ask about it when assessing neonates who may have an infection.

They state: “Many countries (including the UK and Australia) do not screen all women for these pathogens in pregnancy, and with 20-30% of pregnant women carrying group B streptococcus, vaginal seeding could result in many unintended neonatal exposures.”

The news comes after a number of newspaper articles were published in which the ‘potential benefits’ were reported.

View BMJ press release here

and for more on this story see RCM article here