The Importance of Probiotics

With modern medicine becoming more advanced every day and malpractice insurance going through the roof, doctors are defaulting to C sections ever more frequently. Currently, the national average for C sections is about 25% of all births. As it turns out, the hospital where I delivered my twins has a rate of 30%!! They call this hospital the "baby factory" and I was not aware of this until after I delivered and started asking more questions. If only I knew then what I know now...

I had planned to have my boys vaginally. I did everything to try and get them to both turn head down. I knew that even if one was breech, my OB would not deliver them vaginally. This is sad because a vaginal birth is so much healthier for a baby. However, I do understand the risks of complications especially with twins so I was not going to force the issue. I felt that my OB did not want to put my life or my kids life in harms way. After numerous trips to my chiropracter I was only able to get Jake to move head down. That didn't last long because I wound up on bedrest and he went right back to breech. So at 37 weeks, I had my scheduled C section.

During a vaginal delivery the baby moves through the birth canal and is squeezed in order to stimulate lung function so that it can breathe on its own more naturally. The baby is also exposed to all the good flora "bacteria" that is found in the birth canal. This good bacteria aids in digestion and boosts the immune system. Unfortunately with a C section, the baby is not given any of this good bacteria and thus, goes without. That is why its so important to replace what was never given to the baby in the first place.

A probiotic is the answer. I gave my boys a probiotic from the day they were born. I added it to the breast milk that I pumped. It has also been linked to lessening reflux in some cases. But more importantly, it builds up their immune system by adding all the good bacteria that they never got when they were born. Its been a good thing for us since my boys rarely get sick and when they do, its usually a virus that doesn't need any antibiotics.

Whole Foods or any other healthfood store will sell an infant or toddler probiotic. A half a teaspoon in a bottle of milk or juice per day is all they need but you can add more if you feel your baby needs and immune boost.

Many foods contain a natural probiotic as well. Some of them include, yogurt, kefir and raw milk. Kefir is a great way to get probiotic because they make fruit flavored smoothies out of kefir sold in health food stores. West Wind Farms also sells raw kefir which I buy monthly and make my own smoothies by adding banana and strawberries. My boys love sipping it through a straw! And ofcourse we all drink raw milk.

I don't think enough women that have C sections know about this and unfortunately suffer unneccesarily with babies who are often sick or have reflux. Probiotic is truly important because the digestive system is so closely related to the immune system and if one is not fuctioning properly, the other will suffer as well.