Maternal Microbiome: Did You Pass an Imbalance to Your Baby During Birth?

Transcript:

In the intricate dance of birth, there's a silent yet crucial participant: the microbiome. This bustling community of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms isn't just a bystander; it's a legacy passed down from mothers to their newborns, shaping their health in profound ways. You don’t just pass your eye color onto your child. 

Understanding this connection between your microbiome and what you pass onto your child is incredibly important, especially during pregnancy, as it can significantly influence you and your child’s long term health. 

While in utero, a babies gut is sterile. They don’t have good bacteria or bad bacteria. During birth, babies are exposed to their mother's microbiome when they pass through the vaginal canal. This initial inoculation kickstarts the colonization of the baby's gut with beneficial bacteria, laying the foundation for that child’s immune system and overall health. Unfortunately many of us unknowingly have an overgrowth of bad bacteria, yeast and even parasites that we pass along. 

This happened to me and my son. I had no reason to ever know that my gut was impacted. I was so healthy with glowing skin, I have always been a healthy and regular pooper, I crave healthy and nourishing foods, and overall I would have never known I had an imbalance. Most women who come into my world whose child is suffering from symptoms like eczema, colic, reflux, digestive or sleep issues and even behavioral outbursts are in this same boat. Why and how was your gut imbalanced in the first place? We are going to get into this in a minute. 

But first, lets talk about another common scenario. Many women actually do know their gut was compromised at some point either preconception, during pregnancy or childhood or even early postpartum. Did you know antibiotics are the number one prescription prescribed to pregnant women? And while in some cases antibiotics are necessary, they kill all of your good bacteria along with the bad. In most women, this exacerbates the minor imbalance she already had without even knowing. Unfortunately western medicine doesn’t pause to nurture you back into balance. At best your doctor may say to grab a probiotic next time you go to the store. Completely oblivious to the fact that you need a very specific probiotic to repopulate your gut and not only that but bad bacteria has learned how to multiply at a faster rate than good bacteria. So when you take antibiotics you kill everything but unless if you are intentionally killing the growth of new bad bacteria and hyper nurturing the good bacteria, you will quickly develop an imbalance. This isn’t just the case for “some people”. This is across the board true for everyone and is extremely important to have the awareness about especially preconception, during pregnancy and birth and into your breastfeeding journey. 

One significant repercussion of antibiotic use during pregnancy or childbirth is the skyrocketing rates of postpartum mood disorders. Research shows that just one round of antibiotics increase your risk of major depression in the 12 months following by an astounding 24%! Even further, infants born to mothers who have received antibiotics or received antibiotics themselves have a much higher risk of developing symptoms associated with a gut imbalance such as colic, eczema, and even autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 

But what about the mothers who didn’t need antibiotics? Maybe this is you? Why did you have an imbalance in the first place and not even know about it? And again even if you did need antibiotics, you likely had a minor imbalance beforehand without knowing it. Something you need to know is that the majority of the population does have an imbalance of some severity whether they know it or not. Why? 

There are many factors that disrupt your microbiome. Chronic stress, dietary habits, even those perceived as healthy, can contribute to imbalance if they lack diversity or contain hidden sources of inflammation. Environmental exposures to toxins found in pesticides, pollutants, and heavy metals can also disrupt your gut bacteria and contribute to imbalances. The use of common medications like Tylenol, ibuprofen, laxatives and birth control all alter your gut bacteria composition. Fluctuations in hormone levels during pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause also influence your gut health. And also, those with a history of gastrointestinal issues or genetic predispositions are more susceptible to gut imbalances. 

One other contributor is mold exposure. Living or working in environments with mold contamination can lead to inhalation or ingestion of mold spores, mycotoxins, and VOCs. These disrupt the delicate balance of your gut microbiome, triggering inflammation and compromising intestinal barrier function. Chronic exposure to mold has been linked to conditions like leaky gut syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), all of which are associated with alterations in gut bacteria composition. Additionally, mycotoxins produced by certain molds can directly affect gut microbial populations, meaning it can reduce the rate that your good bacteria populated and increase the rate that bad bacteria populates. 

We live in a time where our soil is depleted of it only nutrients but also good bacteria that our ancestors were exposed to in abundance. Combine the depletion of environmental bacteria with our increased exposure to chemicals, pollution, pesticides and heavy metals and we must be intentional in order to have a balanced and thriving microbiome. 

Regardless of if you needed antibiotics or not, rebalancing your gut is really important. If your child is experiencing symptoms of imbalance, do NOT blame yourself. Guilt will not help heal your child. It will paralyze you and you are hear to learn and expand. Let yourself do this, okay! This meant your fault. We live in a culture that doesn’t yet understand all of this. You are ahead of most of the world and with this information you can heal and protect your family moving forward. The most beautiful part about your microbiome is it is ready to heal and it’s never too late. It’s like my sweet dog who patiently lays there all day long just following me with his eyes. You know those eyes that say “I’m ready when you are, just say the magic words”. And no matter what time of day it is or how many days have gone by that I don’t say the magic words, as soon as they come out “where’s your ball, buddy! You wanna play ball?” He is the happiest wiggliest guy there ever was. Your gut bacteria is the same! 

Okay. So we have talked about why your gut is imbalanced, now let’s talk about how to balance.

So many women come to me when their child is consumed with symptoms like rashes, chronic constipation, diarrhea, compromised immune systems, allergies or mood issues. I am going to share with you exactly what I share with all of them. 

If I were to ever get pregnant again this is what I would personally do. I would do the Women’s Gut Rebalance Kit during my first trimester. After that 64 day rebalance I would do maintenance dosing until my third trimester where I would fully rebalance again and this time extend the full rebalance until 6 weeks postpartum. From there I would move back into maintenance. 

If I had known all of this and followed this protocol, I wouldn’t be here today. My sons severe imbalance lead me to this place where I had to learn all of this the hard way. He suffered for 2.5 years and it was all 100% unnecessary. 

Another benefit of following this protocol is you won’t get GBS and can avoid needing antibiotics. 

If you are listening to this and say you are already 20 weeks pregnant or even 36 weeks. Just start wherever you are. Jump into rebalancing and carrying through 6 weeks postpartum. 

For maintenance dosing, the Women’s Gut Rebalance Kit comes with free access to my course where you will learn exactly what this means and how to do it. 

Now maybe you already had your baby? If they developed symptoms before 6 months of age, you can be certain you unknowingly passed an imbalance onto them. Again, this information is meant to empower you, not fill your heart with guilt. 

If you are breastfeeding and your child is under 4 months old you can do the Women's Gut Rebalance and it will be enough to heal the both of you. For skin symptoms you will also want get the Balanced Bacteria Skincare Kit because you only want to use topical products that are microbiome friendly. 

If your child is over 4 months of age you will want to get the  Children’s Gut Rebalance Kit for them and the Women’s Gut Rebalance Kit for you. If your child is breastfeeding they will get to experience healing through their own kit and your and this is absolutely magic for their gut. 

For older children, the Children’s Kit is designed for up to 100 pounds. Beyond that and the Women’s Kit will be the most effective for them. 

And mama, don’t forget yourself. Heal yourself alongside your child, not matter how old they are. You won’t regret it and will be able to experience a new thriving version of you that you probably didn’t even know could exist. 

I have everything form this episode in the show notes for you. I have dedicating my life to educating others so that you and your child don’t have unnecessarily suffer the way my family did. Everything from the quality supplements that make up the rebalance and skincare kits to the accompanying course - it’s all here to simplify your journey. I hope you utilize them. 

Before we wrap up, I want to ask you to please share this episode with the mamas in your community. Maybe with your sister, your own mother, your neighbor or best Instagram friends. Together we can empower mother to not only heal but to proactively care for themselves and families. 

Awareness is power, let’s all share it. I’ll be back next week.