. There are no known health harms from these antibiotics to newborns.
If the antibiotic is given before clamping the baby’s cord, however, it will cross the placenta and can affect microbes in the baby’s gut. These microbes include bacteria that are thought to be beneficial for health and the development of the immune system.
Previous studies have found a link between the composition of bacteria and other organisms in the baby’s gut and the development of allergy-related conditions such as eczema and asthma.
Finding that these conditions are not linked to the mother being given antibiotics for a cesarean birth is, therefore, an important piece of the puzzle.
How Did They Solve The Puzzle?
The team of researchers from the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick compared the risk of allergy-related conditions in the first five years after birth in children born by cesarean section both before and after the change in NICE guidelines.
They used records from several million children born between 2006 and 2018, contained in UK-wide healthcare databases. Maternal infections, such as wound infections, can be a risk in the period immediately after birth.
Preventative antibiotics are of most benefit to the mother if given before the cesarean section is carried out. There is no known harm from these antibiotics to the babies born by cesarean birth and findings also suggest no effect on the risk of health conditions, such as asthma and eczema in early childhood.
These promising new findings provide more evidence that preventative antibiotics substantially improve health outcomes for mothers and their babies before cesarean section.
This arms clinicians with key evidence enabling them to ensure antibiotics are used wisely and at the optimum point for the most effective treatments.
Source: Medindia
