Many pregnant women who undergo C-section opt for vaginal seeding of their babies and the trend has been on the rise in the recent years. Vaginal seeding first started in Australia, but it is now getting increasingly popular in the UK. Seeding is a practice in which babies are covered with vaginal fluid immediately after a caesarean birth.

This is done in order to immunize the baby. However, there is no potential benefit of this practice and recently is believed to cause newborns an infection, according to a new paper published in BMJ.

The babies born vaginally get exposed to several beneficial bacteria that immunize them against future diseases. This immunization remains missing in a baby born through C-section. As a result, in order to immunize babies, parents prefer seeding that boosts babies’ health. This practice is also known as microbirthing, which is done by applying swab fluid to mouth, face and body of the baby.

Experts explained in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that new mothers may put their newborns at risk of getting infected with group B strep (GBS), a serious infection that can even cause death. Approximately a quarter of pregnant women carry GBS at any one time. Most babies will not develop group B strep, but some may. There is need to introduce good quality tests for group B strep, for pregnant women, so they can take wise decision for themselves.

“There is now quite a lot of evidence that, differences in the microbiome [the collection of bacteria living in the gut] are associated with risk of developing conditions such as allergies and obesity” said Dr. Aubrey Cunnington, a clinical senior lecturer from Imperial College London. However, there is no evidence that seeding can really lead to infection and diseases.