Ok brace yourselves for TMI ladies - I've just been advised that immediately after my C/S to...

[Lotster]

...Stick my finger in my vagina, or my husband's (finger, not vagina) if I can't reach, and stick it in the newborn's mouth before anything else does (nipple, anyone else's finger etc).

The guy who recommended this runs a local health shop and has studied Nutritional Medicine for decades, I usually go to him before the chemist/doctor and he's never let me down so far! He pretty much cured me of insomnia, gastric reflux, helped with depression, lots of things and I really trust him but am wondering if I will look like a complete nut doing this?!!

Through trying to keep an enlightened expression to mask my I heard him saying something about innoculating the baby with the right bacteria, which usually happens naturally in the birth canal, but not with cesaereans, and the result of getting the wrong bacteria first could result in the baby having an flammatory immune system as opposed to an inflammatory one... if I heard right.

Sooooo, would you do this? Have you heard of anyone that has? And what reaction can I expect from the medical staff at being asked to stand back whilst it's done?

TIA

Thanks Gaby - I had not seen that - found another similar one as well. It does look like there may be a gathering body of evidence that increases in allergy seem to be a possible trade-off with c-sections - but no doubt whether that is down to vaginal inoculation during birth is going to be an0ther can of worms to prove..... .

Yes me too Blu I've only ever been advised about multivitamins in Holland and Barrett. My nether regions have not cropped up in conversation.

Blu - strep b is hugely common in women and yet it's extremely rare for it to cause any problem for full term healthy babies, when PROM isn't an issue. I'm sure strep b is not going to survive long outside the nice, warm, moist, bug-loving environment of the vagina.

Back again. Glad this thread has cheered a few people up, if horrified others!

Well, not only did he say this over the counter but I'm pretty sure two other people were listening!

Thanks for research links, having read them I am a bit tempted to do the nipple thing, at least preserving my dignity(!) on the off chance it helps.
Ref: Strep B thing, I know it can come and go and often isn't detected, but also read that C/S is not recommended to prevent GBS infection in babies as they don't eliminate the risk of GBS to the baby anyway...
Are there no indicators from your urine samples at check ups - anyone know?

reluctantincubator the other thing that occured to me from link, was that although I breastfeed, my mum never did, so do I have such wonderful bacteria to pass on anyway - I could have kept my own gob closed in delivery and be populated with the crap stuff for all I know! Would certainly explain why I suffer with inflammatory conditions (persistant SPD that never quite goes / Tietze's syndrome (or costochondritis)

I thought that it was the pessure on the baby's lungs as it was squeezed during vb that stopped a lot of future breathing problems like asthma etc?

Srep B is detected by a swab.

Can I just do a bit of very imature giggling.
I did laugh at the first line of the OP, very funny.

haven't got much more to say, but I suppose with vaginal delivery, that happens anyway, don't know how comfortable I'd feel doing that though

"t does look like there may be a gathering body of evidence that increases in allergy seem to be a possible trade-off with c-sections "

I would like to read that gathering body of evidence. I'm assuming it's published in peer reviewed medical/scientific journals.

Seriously....... give me the refs

what a funny thread

Anyway I have always wondered about sections when the baby is delivered and the placenta do they have a bit of a hoover round inside your uterus as well?

Do you start bleeding staright away?

Is it less than a VB?

If you are still attached to catheter do you have a big maternity towel down your pants too?

Flamin hell, I have had 2 cs and there is no way on gawds earth you want him going down yonder, rummaging through prgnancy big bush, opening your legs, dodging the cathether and plunging into the unknown!!!!

Probably some very well thought out hypothesis behind it, but imo, no, no, no!!

Plus not a story you would ever want to pass on to your dc, about how wondeful it was when Daddy did xyz, Jesus, you could scar them for life, NO!

Re the strep B thing - I had a planned section with DD2 after DD1 got a group B strep infection but paed urged me to allow them to give DD2 IV antibiotics anyway to eradicate any chance of her getting the same thing, point being that, no, C-section does not protect against strep b.

By the way, think I 've heard everything now.....

I haven't read the whole thread but

My DD was a section, she has a fairly good immune system, though a bit compromised as she had bronchilitis when she was about 12 weeks old.

I have a shit immune system, pick up every bug and cold going, but I was a natural delivery. Maybe I came out with my mouth closed?

In the deepest recesses of my mind, I have put some of the memories of my section, including the being shaved by a nurse before going down to theatre with a bloody bic razor and having to have nurses check and change sanitary pads.

No way would I have wanted DH to rummage around there!!

if anybodies husband did the whole finger mouth thing on behalf of their wife and newborn, they're a stronger one than my DH who would probably... erm... I dont know, faint? Will have to slip that in conversation next time he suggests another child!

Colacubes - surely with a story like that up my sleeve I would have some leverage to guarantee good behaviour in her teens, or else threaten to tell all in front of first boyfriend??

I'm not that evil, honest.

highlander - I haven't done a proper medline search or anything, its just what cropped up on rough and ready google searches - but there were a couple of meta-analyses. (I didn't intend that statement to sound like a scientific claim and it should have been prefaced with IMO)

Here is one meta-analysis that showed a link with c section and asthma

www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119410122/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

and a link to c-section link to general atopy

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18266879?dopt=AbstractPlus

what do you think?

Really? I haven't read the whole thread, but in response to the OP - No, surely the man in the shop is totally bonkers for suggesting this? What a bizarre idea.
I can sort of see his logic, but at the same time - NO!
Breastfeeding should give your baby all the immunities it needs.
Yuck.

Sometimes I think I have heard/read all there is to hear/read about childbirth.

And then I open a new thread on Mumsnet .

I echo what others say - good in theory (I suppose) but just to darned difficult in practice...

I would personally always recommend that every post partum Mum and babe sees a good cranial osteopath after the birth (not just for forceps/vantouse as is more traditionally belived). Most women are all askew round shoulders, hips and pelvis (and pelvis floor down round knees - obv more so if Vaginal delivery) - and a lot of babies can benefit from the mucus clearing things they can do (esp if c-section where they haven't had the big squeeze through the bith canal).

quack quack.nutritional medicine,an unregulated title anyone can use.

leave medicine to the dr's who studied it properly with rigorous exams etc

this is dumbass advice

ok reality check.
you will be immobilised,
continuously wired
catheter and IV insitu
in a theatre with a big team of obs,scrub nurse,

no chance to get your finger up your vagina.given that it will be adjacent to incision site

staff reaction? stunned

This is the funniest thing I have heard for ages.

Sweetkitty, yes they do swab everything out (vagina included) - bleeding starts straight away - and yes, you do get the brick-sized towel down your pants notwithstanding the catheter. IME blood loss was a lot more with 2 cs than with my vb, but was not quite as prolonged as with the vb.

When I had ds2 (vb) he chucked up huge amounts of vile smelling brown blood about 6 hours after being born - mine, not his. Must've had his mouth open!

wow. and I thought the man in the deli lecturing me about goat's cheese was bad. at least he didn't start recommending peculiar fanjo-related practices.

Scottishmummy - 'properly qualified' doctors have a long and depressing history of injuring and poisoning patients as well as curing them.

There is a paediatrician working at my local hospital who routinely tells mums on the postnatal ward they'll need to supplement with formula if their babies are over 9lbs. Amazing isn't it that your average mum who's done nothing more than worked as a breastfeeding peer supporter knows better than this.

Point being that not all doctors are well informed or always practice safe, evidence based medicine, and not all alternative practitioners are quacks.

doctors have a regulatory body GMD and pts have recourse to complain and ultimate sanction struck off.professional code of ethics and practice

none of this is available to quacks with pseudo-scientific titles - funny how one who eschews professional medicine still wants the status and title eg Nutritional medicine implies medicinal value,body of knowkedge.with absolutely no professional responsibility.an unregulated title,anyone can use.

lets consider "dr" gillian mckeith, ot to give her her full medical title Gillian mckeith.se is another quack with badly formed quasi-scientific ideas

so back to the paediatrician,ell if you believe he flouts good practice and are unhappy you have recourse to the hospital and can complain, this will be actioned.

you have no such recourse with nutritional medicine

doctors are governed by gmc

yes there are good nutritionists out there,but also quacks too.this whole area needs tighter regulation.a move towards regulated protected titles and transparency

current status were anyone can set up with quasi professional titles eg therapist etc is alarming

did you know nutritional therapists can sell treatments for money so they "prescribe" for profit.the impetus is a financial one rather than a treatment one. they "prescribe" for profit

HCP and Dr's cannot prescribe for profit

It is true that anyone can go and buy a health shop and sell vitamins and supplements etc. Which is shocking.

But just quickly in defence of my man who I'm now feling a tad guilty of holding up for ridicule - He has studied and gained various qualifications non-stop for 14 years, always attending seminars on new researchetc., and really devoted himself to nutritional healing (not to mention nipping off to the third world to build orphanages and do charity work whenever he can!!).
He gives free advice wihtout expecting people to buy too, and his shop is overrun with people asking for advice and giving him positive reports whenever I'm in there. So he may be one of the few really good "quacks", but I do believe in him. Maybe the last piece of advice was a bridge too far though!

I wouldn't take advice from just anyone though of course - but he has really proven himself over the years with the advice/help he's given me.

I think the key to my approach is that I try to find natural ways to heal most complaints, but if it's serious then don't mess about, take the doc/hospital advice/medicine.

I feel pharmacutical medicine can sometimes be a cheap, fake imitation of natural medicine anyway, manufactured for profit. Given that the medicine that's considered "alternative" now, used to be the only type you could get,it really has it's place, but not any old tom dick and harry should be allowed to sell or advise on it IMO.
But also we are living longer thanks to modern vaccines and medical advances.
They can live hand in hand.

Are you stil awake? Sorry to waffle