Natural childbirth boosts babies’ immune system

NATURAL childbirth can help boost newborn babies’ immune system, an Irish study has found.

Research at the Coombe Women’s Hospital in Dublin, led by Dr Eleanor Molloy, has revealed that childbirth has a significant impact on boosting babies’ natural defence system against disease and infections.

Earlier this year Dr Molloy published evidence which proved that the stress of labour also boosted a woman’s immune system to respond after giving birth, thus helping protect against infection after delivery.

In this latest round of research, doctors compared the immune systems of babies born naturally with newborns delivered via elective Caesarean section performed at full-term without labour.

The Irish Medical News said the report concluded that labour of any duration benefits neonatal immune response.

The researchers examined protective white blood cells called neutrophils in newborn babies and found those born through vaginal birth had improved ability to maintain an inflammatory response.

“Elective caesarean section has been linked with increased neonatal morbidity, which may be partially immune-mediated. Labour may alter neutrophil phenotype and thereby decrease neonatal complications,” the authors said in the Pediatric Research journal.

While most newborn babies are protected by labour-induced changes to their immune systems, the study warned that labour may be detrimental for infants with a pre-existing inflammatory condition.

“We tend to think of elective Caesarean sections as completely benign but that might not be true. It now appears that even short labour may be beneficial,” Dr Molloy said.

Dr Molloy said in elective Caesareans, neutrophils don’t survive as long because women don’t experience the same stress which could leave them more susceptible to infection.

The latest research comes on the back of another Dublin study which found that women who opt for a Caesarean birth double the risk of getting post-natal depression.

A study of 2,000 women attending the Rotunda Hospital found a significant increase in depression among women who had a planned Caesarian birth.

The number of Caesarians in Ireland has trebled in the past 15 years with C-sections now accounting for 25% of all births, compared to 20% in Britain and the US.