The birth of your immune system

Did you know that your immune system lies within the gut?

I remember first learning about this in my Holistic Nutrition program in 2014. Suddenly, everything seemed to click into place for me from that point on. I began to understand why I had a significantly weaker immune system and learnt what I could do to optimize it. In the next few weeks, I will be writing a ton about gut health and sharing tools on how we can all improve our over well-being and immune system.

The story of your gut health begins with your birth story. During a vaginal childbirth, the infant traveling through the birth canal is being exposed and colonized by what is to be the foundation of the child's gut microbiome (aka: the immune system). This happens as the child swallows and ingests some of the maternal healthy bacterial fluids which she has been gathering during her entire pregnancy. After the birth of the child, this colonization continues through skin contact with the mother and father with practices like Kangaroo care/skin to skin as well as breastfeeding. Now- with the rise in c-sections, and the understanding of the importance of vaginal bacteria on the development of the infants gut microbiome, even infants born of c-sections receive these beneficial bacteria through a swab which is first inserted into the mother then into the infants mouth. I have heard numerous stories and accounts from delivery nurses who have confirmed this to be the case. If you have experienced this or would like to share your story in the comment section bellow to help keep the conversation alive- that would be awesome! You can also read about it HERE & HERE. This "vaginal seeding"technique, I would suggest is more of a recent discovery. Over time, doctors and researchers discovered a correlation between poor immune system functions and poor gut health in children born via caesarian/ c-section. Studies showed that c-section babies (without vaginal seeding) had a higher likelihood of developing allergies, immune diseases, celiac disease, eczema, IBS etc. As a result, vaginal seeding could be a helpful alternative to help colonize the infant with the same microbes they would have obtained in a vaginal delivery. -Pretty neat hen?

Now, I mention this because it simply outlines key points between the link of our bacteria gut health and immune system health. If you we're born via c-section before 2015- you may not have been exposed to the same bacterial seeding. The importance of breastfeeding and kangaroo care are also more recently becoming recognized as the healthiest options for baby, mama and dads overall health. Formula feeding has its start from the early 18th century. I found this pretty fascinating article HERE which describes the constantly changing historical evolution of formula as opposed to breastmilk feeding. In it you'll discover the reasoning behind formula vs breastfeeding from a medical and social perspective. We are still in a bit of a hangover from these early formula beliefs but science is finally beginning to recognize that nature is King when it comes to the whole breastmilk vs formula kerfuffle. Formula feeding from the moment of birth has been shown to alter the infant gut microbiome in favour of proinflammatory taxa and increase gut permeability and bacterial load. Many of these issues can be prevented with proper health care practices and resources needed in hospital settings to help teach new moms proper breastfeeding techniques to avoid pain, induce milk supply etc. Registered lactation consultants are a phenomenal resource for any new mom interested in breastfeeding. You can find one using this link HERE in Canada and anywhere else outside of Canada HERE.

With all this information, it is important to recognize however that mothers and children can still lead healthy lives no matter their birth or breast feeding story and shame or regret should never be the point of these conversations. The most important thing is that you are both safe and healthy. Whatever decisions were made in birth and after birth, it's important to acknowledge that all births should be honoured and recognized as the beautiful miracles they are.

My objective and hope is that through these discussions we can begin to learn alternative options and take on more of the responsibility required to learn about our health and bodies so that we can become our own best health advocates! It is no surprise that the medical system is under pressure and lacking the resources or even time to ensure that all mothers and babies get the proper care and attention they need, before, during and after childbirth.

Just a few final remarks on the biology of the gut

Our guts are filled with an approximation of over 100 trillion bacteria with over 500 different species. Your microbiome composition is as unique as your fingertips. Over the course of our life, these bacterias are subject to their environment, which forces them to change and adapt. Our gut bacteria microbiome are host to both good & bad bacteria as well. The objective with our gut health should be to always maintain a higher level of good gut bacteria than bad ones. Essentially, our good gut bacteria help to crowd out the bad guys making it harder for them to multiply and cause disease and inflammation.

Good gut bacteria help to fight off illness while also helping us to digest foods, prevent autoimmune diseases, ease vaginal infections, fend off urinary track infections and even ease skin ailments.

In my next Rit-u-al, i'll be taking my site members on a deep dive exploration into the many ways in which we can learn to promote more good gut bacteria in our diets and avoid damage to our sensitive microbiome. You can join us for these Rit-u-als via my members only platform. I'll also be sharing some FREE resources as well so be sure to stay connected & get notified anytime a new blog post or course launches by joining my mailing list HERE.

Love & Light

Renelle B