Your body is full of trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi upon birth. They are collectively known as the microbiome. While some bacteria are associated with disease, others are significant for your immune system, heart, weight, and many other aspects of health.
Probiotics for Infant
Probiotics supplements usually have a non-digestible component that promotes the growth of gut bacteria. Typically, an infant gets prebiotics from their mother’s breast milk. Breast milk is the best source of prebiotics for babies up to six months.
There are three main ways that an infant’s microbiome is populated during and shortly after birth:
- Upon delivery. Vaginal birth exposes the baby to an enormous quantity of beneficial bacteria, which aids the infant in establishing colonies of gut bacteria in their gut.
- Skin-to-skin contact. All newborns benefit from skin-to-skin time, but babies born via cesarean delivery lack exposure to the mother’s good bacteria during delivery, so skin-to-skin time is crucial to their growth.
- Through breast milk or a well-structured formula. Formula milk also contains Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium Infantis, found in human breast milk. Finding out which products have these probiotic strains requires careful research.
Is It Safe?
Most studies on infants and probiotics point to the safety of their use in healthy infants. Note that there is no sizeable medical body has endorsed their use for this age group. Before giving probiotics to an infant, talk to your doctor for the following reasons:
- The FDA considers them a supplement; they are not regulated like medications nor proven safe.
- There is no official suggested dose for infants at this time.
- Some of them have side effects that cause allergic reactions, diarrhea, stomach pain, and bloating.
- Infants require special care. Talk to your doctor about any supplement before giving it to your infant. Your doctor can discuss the need to use probiotics.
Benefits of Giving Your Babies Probiotics
Probiotics have been found to help treat conditions like diarrhea and eczema in infants. They may also help manage allergies, prevent urinary tract infections, and relieve symptoms of colic in infants. Some studies also suggest that probiotics might be beneficial when taken by mothers during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Improving the baby’s biome through healthy strains boosts the infant’s immune system. A baby with low levels of good bacteria may not get all the nutrients they need. Discuss with your doctor the risk and benefits of giving probiotics to infants to avoid health risks.
