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Wiping Newborns With Vaginal Bacteria, Is it worth it?

Wiping newborns with Virginal bacteria is being discouraged


Vaginal seeding a popular practice of collecting a mother’s vaginal bacteria with gauze and wiping it over the newborn’s mouth, eyes, face, to provide the baby with a host of beneficial germs has been cast doubt apron. According to Dana Dovey, an article published in the British Medical Journal now suggests medical professionals hold off on using the technique until more research is done on its benefits and risks.

The logic behind vaginal wiping

 bacteria that babies are exposed to during their first few moments of life can affect their long-term health. Babies born via C-section, however, miss out on exposure to the bacteria in the vagina and this causes them to develop different, less diverse gut bacteria. With vaginal seeding, doctors are able to spread the good bacteria around and inside the baby.....It’s believed vaginal seeding helps to coax the bacterial colonization the babies missed, while also shielding them from harmful bacteria. If this is true, then it would confer long-term health benefits, specifically to the child’s digestive and immune systems. For example, research has shown children born via C-section are more likely to have digestive conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and allergies, which are an abnormal immune reaction.''

The reality

Cunnington, A J et al say it’s unclear if vaginal seeding actually does a sufficient job at recreating the natural process and in some instances were some women have  STDs like gonorrhea and herpes transfer from mother to child from a swab could harm to new born babies including infections or death.


 With 32 percent of all deliveries in the United States done via C-section and 20 million new cases of STDs each year, the risk associated with vaginal seeding may outweigh the benefits.


Source: extracted from

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