The first few months of an infant’s life is the most crucial in its
development. As supported by various studies and data, what is given to babies
have effects on their immune system and overall health.
It is said that breastmilk is the gold standard in infant nutrition and exclusive
breastfeeding is the recommended way of feeding infants. But what if breastfeeding
is not possible due to the mother’s condition? What is the alternative left for
them in infant nutrition?
Recent studies published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and
Nutrition & Pharmacological Research reveal that a combination of the probiotic
lactobacillus fermentum and prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS)
given to babies over a six-month period significantly reduced the rate of
gastrointestinal and respiratory infection in babies between 6-12 months of age.
In addition, it was demonstrated that l.fermentum
was safe and well tolerated in babies from 1-12 months of age. As a secondary
outcome, the consumption of the combination of l.fermentum and GOS improved
the health of infants (1-6 months) by
reducing the incidence of gastrointestinal infections by 71%.
During the
discussion on the importance of good bacteria given by Dr. Eduardo
Lopez-Huerats of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) held last
March 22, 2018 at the Holiday Inn Makati, he shared how breastmilk contains
lactic acid bacteria like bifidobacteria and lactobacillus, including l.fermentum, and prebiotics containing
galactose.
The
administration of l.fermentum in
infant nutrition to babies between 6-12 months of age produced reductions of
gastrointestinal infections (46%) and reductions of upper respiratory
infections (27%) such as common cold, pharyngitis, tonsillitis.
Combination
support of probiotic l.fermentum &
GOS and CS born-babies
During birth, bacteria, including probiotics, are transferred from mother
to baby as it passes through the vaginal canal. The presence of good bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract protects the baby from diseases and
infections.
Women who deliver
babies by CS are less likely to breastfeed or delay breastfeeding initiation. It
has been shown that CS-born babies possess less beneficial bacteria and more
potentially pathogenic bacteria in the gut. This increases the risk of diseases
later on in life like asthma or atopic dermatitis. For CS-born babies who
cannot be breastfed, infant nutrition containing a combination of l.fermentum and GOS may be considered.
“For babies who cannot be breastfed, the combination of the breastmilk
probiotic l.fermentum and the
prebiotic GOS in infant nutrition presents advantages regarding community-acquired
infections mainly gastrointestinal infections. In
addition, for babies born by CS who cannot be breastfed a formula with pre and
probiotics should be considered due to its possible benefits,” said Dr. Eduardo Lopez-Huertas, a research
scientist and author of published clinical researches on babies’ nutrition and
health.
