Judy Ritchie posted an article Dec.2, about a Finnish study on this topic.
I wonder if there isn't a misunderstanding in the Reuters Health version of
the article, though I haven't read the original myself.  The CS babies were
described as having 'delayed' B.fragilis colonization but no mention is made
of the rate or timing of colonization with B.fragilis in normally born
babies.  My decades-old microbiology textbook says lactobacilli are
virtually without disease-causing ability, while B.fragilis can cause
septicemia and other serious infections.  Not a bug you'd want to be
colonized with any sooner than necessary, though we all have it in our adult
guts.

If CS babies experienced a delay in the first breastfeed, which is very
usual for CS babies compared to normally born babies, then they would
experience a delay in colonization of any kind.  BF promotes the
colonization of the gut with lactobacillus-like bacteria, which hinders the
growth of other kinds of bugs.  And in cows and horses it is 'known' that a
delay in ingestion of colostrum can cause lethal damage to the gut, thus the
hurry to get colostrum into calves and foals.

Maybe someone who knows more than I do about allergy can explain why
increased levels of IgA- and IgM-secreting cells would be interpreted as a
sign of maturation and not as a sign of overactivity in response to
allergens or to inflammation?

Since this study is from Finland where BF is the norm, I would look for a
difference in content of the very first feed between CS and normally born
babies.  It may be that in the setting where this was done, there are
routines in place which make BF difficult in the first 12 hours, and more CS
babies may be given artificial feeds.  Note: this is pure speculation on my
part, fueled by my familiarity with what goes on in my own workplace!

This all sounds like something which cries for further investigation, and
makes it all the more imperative to work for normalizing childbirth so that
more babies are able to take the first feed in the first hour or so, as we
observe in babies who are born spontaneously, free of medication and
undisturbed by artificial routines until they have completed the process of
attachment at the breast.  Unfortunately it will be nearly impossible to
find enough such babies to study as a comparison group, though if these
researchers could get a study published containing 64 infants in all,
perhaps I'm being too stringent.

as always, bewildered at our constant efforts to improve on one of the more
perfect natural processes,
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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