While the practice of "seeding" - also known as as microbirthing - has seen a huge surge in popularity in recent years, experts in the field have warned mothers against the trend on the grounds that it could potentially cause dangerous infections.
Swabbing a newborn infant, who was born via Caesarean-section, with their mother's vaginal fluid is thought to increase the levels of beneficial bacteria to which they are not exposed as a result of their delivery, but health experts insist there is no proven benefits of the practice.
Further to this, researchers have suggested that "seeding" may actually put infants at risk of certain infections including group B strep - exposure to which can result in death.
Elaborating on this, clinical senior lecturer from Imperial College London. Dr. Aubrey Cunnington explained: "GBS is carried by around one in four pregnant women, and although it poses no risk to the mother it can cause fatal infections in babies."
Highlighting the numerous infections which can be passed onto the child during the micro-birthing process, Dr. Cunnington continued: "There are also other conditions that cause no symptoms in the mother, such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea and herpes simplex virus that could be transferred on the swab."
Issuing a warning about the potential dangers, he insisted: "Doctors, nurses, midwives and parents need to be aware they are doing something with a potential risk that currently doesn't have any evidence of benefit."
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