Babies are being fed mother’s poo in effort to boost gut bacteria

By Clare Wilson

A baby born by Caserean section

Martin Valigursky / Alamy

Some babies born by Caesarean section in Finland are being given tiny doses of their mothers’ faeces in an attempt to improve their gut bacteria.

The team running the study has warned women not to copy the idea on their own, as there can be dangerous microbes in faeces. The doctors conducting the work tested for these microbes, ruling out a third of the mothers from the trial after this screening.

“This is not something to do yourself at home,” says Willem de Vos at the University of Helsinki, Finland. …