Birthing Life: Exploring the Microbiome Connection with Toni Harman Ep: 116

• How the mother passes beneficial bacteria to her baby during vaginal birth, and how these beneficial bacteria are fed by the special sugars in breast milk (which is why exclusive breastfeeding is so important)
• How diet and lifestyle choices during pregnancy and postpartum can impact the mother’s gut microbiome, which in turn impacts the baby’s microbiome.
• How beneficial bacteria are key to the optimal training of the infant immune system, to protect a baby’s lifelong health.
• What mothers can eat/do after birth, particularly after a C-section to help restore the baby’s microbiome.

The heart of this conversation makes the point that quite often a mom goes into a hospital and all of the beneficial experiences that occur naturally in birth for microbiome connection and immune system training are disregarded and the medical system takes over.

We discuss that it’s up to parents to become empowered and educate the maternity system.

Most importantly, you’ll leave this episode feeling empowered even beyond the birth experience if you’re dealing with increased childhood illness, food allergies, or other complicated situations, to take some action now to support the gut microbiome connection and the immune system going forward.