>>>I'm not sure I understand this comparison - whose intestinal tracts are
colonized faster?  Are they comparing a breastfed baby to a cesarean born
baby making the assumption that the c-section baby was formula fed??<<<

Jennifer,

It's saying that a newborn's intestinal tract is first colonized by good
bacteria from its mother during a vaginal delivery. A baby born by c-section
is not exposed to that bacteria. A breastfed newborn then receives a bifidus
factor (from other reading, I believe this to be a non-digestible sugar)
from breastmilk which promotes the growth of good bacteria. A newborn given
formula doesn't receive the factor and its intestinal microflora more
closely resembles that of an adult (i.e., very low in bifidobacteria).

Pat W

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