Your Pregnancy Microbiome, with Anne Estes

The Birthful Podcast: Episode #80

We hear a lot about the microbiome and birth, but what about during pregnancy? Does your microbiome change depending on the trimester you are in? Is it impacted by avoiding deli meats and sushi? Are there ways to alter your microbiome to discourage the presence of Group B Strep? Anne Estes tells us more. Check it out.

What we talked about:

• The microbiome, Est. 1909.
• Not all location are created equal: the gut, vaginal, skin, and breastfeeding microbiomes
• Why a little pooping during pushing is a good thing.
• Recommendations for a healthier gut microbiome.
• Do you need probiotics?
• Will avoiding deli meats, raw eggs, and raw fish have an effect on your microbiome?
• Is there a microbiological way to discourage the presence of Group B Strep?
• Does the microbiome change with gestational age?
• Considering your ethnicity and the vaginal microbiome

Resources and links to great info mentioned on the show:

• The Vaginal Microbiome During Pregnancy – At Least Something is Stable! – the blogpost Anne wrote after doing this podcast
• Antibiotic Use for Group B Strep + Moms Lowers Infant Microbe Diversity, from Anne’s blog
• Group B Strep in Pregnancy: Evidence for Antibiotics and Alternatives, from Evidence Based Birth
• The Vaginal Microbiome: “Healthy” Differs with Ethnicity, from Anne’s blog
• The Superhero in the Vagina, article from The Atlantic (with info about the Lactin-V)
• How our microbes make us who we are, TED talk by Rob Knight (microbiologist mentioned by Anne, who swabbed his daughter after she was born via Cesarean)
• How to give a C-section baby the potential benefits of vaginal birth, article from ScienceMag
•  “Seeding” The Newborn’s Microbiome – Can We Do It? Should We Be Doing It?, by Anne for Science & Sensibility
• The Vaginal Microbiome During Pregnancy – At Least Something is Stable! – the blogpost Anne wrote after doing this podcast
• The Good Gut: Taking Control of Your Weight, Your Mood, and Your Long-term Health, book by Justin and Erica Sonnenburg
  

Courtesy of Anne Estes

[mark]About Anne M. Estes[/mark]

Anne M. Estes, PhD is the human host of the microbiome blog, Mostly Microbes. As a microbiome scientist and mom, she is passionate about distilling the rapidly developing microbiome literature for parents, childbirth educators, and medical professionals so they can make informed medical and lifestyle decisions. Anne has two girls, ages 3 and 8, who inspire her to come up with creative ways to teach everyone about the amazing world of microbes. She is also a contributing blogger to the Lamaze International blog, Science and Sensibility, and MicroBE.net, an academic blog about the microbiome of built environments. She is also a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Genome Sciences in Baltimore, MD, where she studies how microbes and their animal hosts work together throughout host development.
Connect with Anne at www.mostlymicrobes.com

Like the music on the podcast?:

Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).

Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).