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Breastfed C-section babies get more of their microbiomes from milk

Being born by C-section is known to influence a baby's microbiome and now a new study reveals that those who are breastfed get more of their bacteria from milk than babies delivered vaginally

By Clare Wilson

8 March 2023

Breast milk can be a source of bacteria that make up a baby’s microbiome

Nastyaofly/Shutterstock

Babies who missed out on their mothers’ gut bacteria because they were born by Caesarean section receive more bacteria from their mother’s milk, if they are breastfed, compared with breastfed babies born naturally, a Dutch study has shown.

The research also found that bacteria in breast milk, saliva and on a mother’s skin are large contributors to the microbes that colonise newborn babies and their impact on an infant’s microbiome is about the …

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