Why Are Probiotics Important
Lets back up for a second to talk about why youd want to take probiotics.
Our bodies are full of bacteria. And although that may sound like a bad thing, less than one percent of bacteria makes us sick. Other bacteria in our systems are considered good bacteria, since they are vital for our bodies to function and play a key role in keeping us healthy.
Probiotics ensure that our systems have enough good bacteria to function the way they are intended to.
Probiotics Are Beneficial For C
Probiotics can be helpful for moms who have c-sections. In one study, a probiotic containing two different strains of bacteria was given to women with scheduled c-sections. All study participants were given antibiotics following their c-section to prevent infection this is a fairly standard practice. In one group, the women received the probiotic beginning five to six days before the c-section, and continuing for ten days after the surgery. A second group of women received the probiotic beginning the day of surgery and continuing for ten days. A third group of women received no probiotic.
The women who were given probiotics beginning earlier had more balanced microflora compared to the other two groups.
Do Breastfed Babies Need Probiotics
Breast milk is already a natural, good source of probiotics for babies, along with providing many other important nutrients. However, adding more probiotics to your child’s diet may have added benefits. Much of the research into baby probiotics has looked at the potential health outcomes for breastfed babies.
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Breast Milk And The Placenta Help Shape The Babys Microbiome
It is important that the womans microbiome is balanced during pregnancy because her own microbiome can affect the development of her babys microbiome. The womans microbiome naturally changes during her pregnancy, however, if external factors lead to additional changes, there can be an effect on the health of the baby.12, 13 For instance, if a pregnant woman experiences stress during pregnancy, it may affect her microbiome, and consequently, impact the babys microbiome.14
Taking probiotics may help balance the maternal microbiome. Studies have shown that a baby has a reduced risk of developing allergic symptoms when the woman takes probiotics. When women were given the Lactobacillus rhamnosus, LGG® probiotic strain during pregnancy and breastfeeding , their newborn babies had a 50% lower risk of eczema compared to the babies whose mothers were given a placebo.4When the babies were 4,4, 5 and 7 years old,4, 6 this positive effect remained, demonstrating that the LGG® probiotic had a long-term beneficial effect.Taking a combination of three probiotics during pregnancy and breastfeeding has also been associated with a reduction in babies developing eczema.7
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Vaginal Delivery Promotes Beneficial Bacteria In The Babies Gut Microbiome
During vaginal birth, a babys microbiome may be directly influenced by the womans microbiome. Between trimesters 1 and 3, a womans gut microbiome changes dramatically, and involves an increase in the amount of the beneficial bifidobacteria.15, 16 Bifidobacteria are important in the early years of life because these bacteria are central to the development of a babys immune health.17 In one study, the researchers followed 17 mothers and their infants. It was observed that in babies born by vaginal delivery, very specific strains of bifidobacteria were present in both the mother and baby.18 However, the babies who were born by cesarean did not have these specific strains in common with their mothers.18 This suggests that these specific bacteria were passed from the woman to her baby during vaginal birth.18 In another study, babies born to women who consumed the LGG® probiotic strain in the weeks before giving birth had more of the beneficial bifidobacteria in their gut.9
Does My Baby Need Probiotics
One reason for this mixed bag of evidence is that more research is needed into different probiotic strains. This could help scientists better determine which strains of baby probiotics might be most effective for certain diseases.
If you’re concerned about your baby and eczema, asthma, infant colic, food allergies, or any digestive issues, you may want to talk to your doctor or pharmacist before considering using baby probiotics as dietary supplements. As well as being able to recommend other treatments that are proven to be effective, your doctor may also advise on the best type of probiotic for your baby’s needs.
What are the benefits of baby probiotics?
Examples of baby probiotics for health conditions
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I’m So Glad I Found This
My baby was a c-section baby. Ever since he was born he had bad gas and was extremely colic-y. He would cry so much that it was interfering with his sleep. He would never sleep long and wake up to 15 times a night. It was so bad I thought he had reflux and started him on medication…
— Holly M, California
I’m so glad I found this
– Holly M., California
I’m so glad I found this
– Holly M., California
The Benefits Of Probiotics While Breastfeeding
Bacteria are infamous for causing disease, so the idea of ingesting them for your benefit may be counter intuitive. In fact, bacteria are naturally occurring in our bodies. Your mouth, gums, tongue, throat and stomach house over 500 different types of bacteria.1 So contrary to what you may think, not all bacteria are bad.
In a healthy person there is a balance of good and bad bacteria. But things like stress, poor nutrition antibiotics and different pathogens can compromise the good bacteria in your gut. But the good news is that taking a probiotic daily can help keep the bacteria in your gut balanced. Plus, recent research indicates that taking a daily probiotic may benefit you in a variety of other ways.
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The Best Probiotic To Take While Breastfeeding
Hands down, our favorite probiotic to take awhile breastfeeding is Pink Stork Total Lactation Probiotic! It is the only capsule designed specifically for a breastfeeding mom. It does many things supports digestion, gut health, vaginal health and the immune system of both mama .
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Provides colic relief the probiotic benefits are passed on through breast milk and provides colic relief for babies.
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Made Clean without gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, and GMOs.
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Includes all the essentials 10 billion CFUs per serving of Lactobacillus Paracasei, Bifidobacterium Infantis.
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Is women-owned + run the founder and CEO is a woman, and over 80% of our employees are women!
Happy Gut = Happy Baby
A well-functioning gut microbiome affects babys brain, immune system, and gastrointestinal systems. When its not working like it should immune disease, allergies, and autism are just some of the symptoms.Probiotics during pregnancy not only reduce the risk of gastrointestinal disorders for baby, but can help prevent disease throughout their life .
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Are Probiotics Safe When Breastfeeding
Probiotics are safe to take when breastfeeding. When used orally or as a vaginal suppository, they are generally well-tolerated and are considered safe . Research suggests that their persistent use could enhance the immunoprotective potential of breast milk. However, you need to talk to a doctor or lactation expert before taking any supplements when breastfeeding.
What Are The Recommended Prenatal Vitamins And Minerals
Prenatal vitamins and minerals are available over the counter and come in a wide variety of different formulations with different concentrations of nutrients. While it doesnt hurt to get a diverse range of vitamins and minerals in your system during pregnancy, the main vitamins and minerals recommended by doctors include:
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Probiotics For Pregnant & Breastfeeding Women
If youre looking for a great probiotic supplement, check out these Probiotics for Pregnant & Breastfeeding Women . This supplement can help you improve your immune system as well as your babys and keep your digestive system running as smoothly as possible. Take this probiotic every day to help you deal with heartburn, cramps, gas, bloating, constipation and diarrhea and even to help your baby deal with these problems as well. You and your little one both are sure to get a ton of benefits from this affordable product!
Pros
Cons
- This is a very popular and well-selling product that many customers are quite happy with overall.
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Many customers report this supplement helping cut back on gas and bloating for mom and baby both.
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Some customers have gotten bad cramps from taking this probiotic.
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Some customers have also reported having allergic reactions to this product, although this is very uncommon.
The Gut Microbiome During Pregnancy And Breastfeeding Affects The Babys Immune Health
Exactly how bacteria affect the development of the babys immune system is not entirely known, but there are two ways that are thought to be important:
- The womans microbiome sends messages to the babys microbiome through breast milk and the placenta.3
- During vaginal birth, bacteria are transferred from the womans microbiome to her baby, influencing how the babys microbiome develops. This is called seeding.11
Lets take a closer look at how these two natural processes affect the development of the babys microbiome and immune system.
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Fermented Vegetable And Fruit Products
What Probiotics Should I Take While On Antibiotics To Prevent Diarrhea
Ever finish that round of antibiotics and experience days of diarrhea? Yes, we have been there! No fun. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea is commonly experienced with the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.
So which probiotic should be taken to help with diarrhea prevention?
While the research is still growing, existing research points to use of the bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus in preventing the incidence of diarrhea and in treating other gastrointestinal disorders.
Saccharomyces boulardii, a beneficial yeast eating yeast, has also been shown to help prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea in children.
If you havent recently gone on an antibiotic, you may still benefit from another top-rated probiotic supplement for more baseline support.
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Benefits Of Probiotics While Breastfeeding
Breast milk contains an array of healthy nutrients for babies, including proteins, fats, vitamins, and carbohydrates. Research has also shown that probiotics are naturally present in breast milk, which offer benefits to both the caregiver and baby.
As Dr. Weiner explains, “Probiotics do not directly transfer into breast milk but they work by improving the mother’s health, which in turn changes the composition of the breast milk to make it healthier for baby.”
While more research is needed to definitively confirm the benefits of probiotics while nursing, as mentioned previously there are some studies that suggest they may help treat mastitis in those who breastfeed and prevent eczema in breastfed babies.
For Both Mother And Baby
Good bacteria strains have been detected in both the foetus and the placenta during pregnancy and our babys first colonisation of bacteria occurs immediately at birth either from the mother if born vaginally or from the environment if born by caesarean section. In addition, mums gut bacteria are known to relocate to her breast tissue before birth in preparation for breast feeding.
Mums health during pregnancy is also a key concern and, as well as the usual food cravings and aversions, tiredness and nausea, this can be a time when women can experience unusual symptoms, such as food intolerances, IBS-type symptoms and allergies, such as hay fever and eczema.
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Do Probiotics Or Prebiotics Help With Allergies In Babies
Even fewer studies have been done on whether or not baby probiotics or prebiotics can help prevent allergy developmentand those that do exist have had mixed results. Researchers believe that there may be strains of probiotics that can be used in this way but isolating them and testing appropriately will take time.
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Does Your Baby Like To Pick Up Anything And Everything And Put It Into Their Mouth
This may actually be a way to keep them healthy!
Breastfeeding and bacteria. It may not be a combination you may think of as being important for a new baby. But it actually may be very important.
The gut microbiome in our body is far more complex than our genetic makeup. The gut microbiome is the collection of healthy microorganisms that live in the gut.More research is showing how our gut microbiome may play an important role in many aspects of our physical and emotional wellbeing. It seems that our gut microbiome may be able to influence many cells of our body and in doing so influence our overall health. An unhealthy and less diverse gut microbiome has been observed in conditions such as obesity, diabetes and allergy.
Our environment can influence our gut microbiome. So can events that happen and dont happen, especially in our early years. Exclusive breastfeeding helps a baby to develop a healthy and diverse gut microbiome.Bacteria from the mother get passed on to the baby during breastfeeding – from the mothers skin and her breastmilk. Significant differences exist in the gut microbiota of babies who are exclusively breastfed compared to those given formula. Breastmilk contains about 200 different types of oligosaccharides , which provide food for the good bacteria in the gut. Our genes carry memories from past generations . So, who we are today is a result of who our past generations were up to three generations back at least!
How To Recognize Foods With Probiotics
Foods may not always have an indication on the label that they have probiotics. If you intend to get yogurt with probiotics, you should make sure that it’s pasteurized. Also, check the ingredient list to make sure that it includes live, active cultures.
Yogurt should have at least 100 million cultures per gram before being labeled as having live and active cultures. The label may also indicate the specific probiotics in the yogurt.
Fermented foods also contain probiotics. Fermentation preserves and promotes probiotic growth. Foods that can be fermented include cabbage, cucumbers, soybeans, and milk. Fermentation also helps preserve food and promotes the formation of enzymes, omega-3 fatty acids, and B vitamins.
While fermenting foods may promote the growth of probiotics, the downside is that the taste and smell may get too strong. Also, not all fermented foods have probiotics. Some products, like beer and wine, undergo processes that eliminate probiotics.
Baking or canning will kill prebiotics.
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What Do Probiotics Do For Babies
“The first five years of a child’s life are essential for the optimal development of their gut microbiome. Baby probiotics may aid with this development,” advises Dr Nirusa Kumaran, medical director and founder of Elemental Health Clinic.
The gut microbiome refers to the microbes that live in your digestive system. If you have enough of the right kind of microbes, they help to keep your gut – and the rest of you – healthy. Having the wrong balance of microbes is called dysbiosis, which has been linked to a wide variety of medical conditions, from irritable bowel syndrome to type 2 diabetes and allergy-related conditions such as eczema and asthma.
Probiotics are live healthy bacteria and yeasts which have been shown to contribute to a healthy gut microbiome. The term ‘probiotics’ is also commonly used to refer to foods or food supplements which contain high quantities of these healthy microbes.
Probiotics For Breastfeeding Moms Faqs
A lot of breastfeeding moms are curious about probiotics and whether theyre safe to take while breastfeeding.
It can be tough to figure out which probiotics are right for you, especially when youre still trying to learn all there is to know about breastfeeding.
Weve put together a list of the most frequently asked questions about probiotics and breastfeeding. This should help clear up some of the confusion and give you a better idea of whats safe for you and your baby.
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Can You Take A Probiotic While Breastfeeding
As a parent, you want to do everything you can to support your little one. But you need to make sure you’re also taking care of yourself along the way, especially if you choose to breastfeed your baby.
Postpartum depletion, a drop in energy levels and changes in your digestive system make the postpartum period one of the most nutritionally demanding phases of your life.
Giving your body the nutrients, energy and immunity it needs to provide nourishing breast milk is essential to avoiding things like brain fog, tiredness, hair loss and mood changes.
Good bacteria can have a range of powerful health benefits and we know that human breast milk does an incredible job of seeding your baby’s microbiome and supporting lifelong gut health.
But, if you’re lacking the right beneficial bacteria in your own gut, you might not be giving your baby the best start in life.
That’s where probiotics and breastfeeding come in. By taking the right probiotic supplements, you can ensure you’re fuelling your body with everything you need to look after you, so you can look after your baby.
