Promoting Skin, Oral and Gut

During physiological birth, early microbiota seeding is essential for the development of the neonates’ skin, oral and gut microbiome within the endocrine, metabolic and immune systems. Microbiome defines microorganisms such as fungi, viruses and bacteria which are present within the body, particularly the skin, lungs, intestines, vagina and oral cavity, and are essential for the protection of short and long-term health.1 There is some evidence to suggest microbiota are also present in amniotic fluid, and with fetal swallowing reflexes apparent as early as 10 to 13 weeks gestation, this implies that protective gut microbiomes are already present in the fetal gastrointestinal tract prior to birth.2 The fetus is also coated in vernix caseosa which protects the skin in utero and contains antibacterial enzymes. Newborn skin microbiome initially reflects the microbiota it is primarily exposed to at birth whether that is from the vagina or the maternal skin.