Studies have shown that administering antibiotics before cesarean delivery to prevent infection does not affect the risk of asthma or atopic dermatitis in children who gave birth.
HealthDay News reported on the 23rd that a team of researchers at the Institute of Applied Health Research at the University of Birmingham analyzed the medical records of millions of children born in the UK between 2006 and 2018.
The research team compared and analyzed the incidence of allergy-related diseases in children born with cesarean sections before and after the change in the guidelines of British health authorities on antibiotic administration before cesarean delivery.
The guidelines, updated in 2011, required antibiotics to be administered immediately before caesarean delivery rather than after umbilical cord cutting to minimize the risk of infection in women with cesarean delivery.
The comparative analysis showed that even if antibiotics were administered before cesarean delivery, the risk of developing allergic diseases such as asthma and atopic dermatitis did not increase, the research team said.
If antibiotics are administered to the mother before cutting the umbilical cord after delivery, antibiotics are passed to the baby through the placenta, which can affect the baby’s intestinal bacteria, including bacteria that help the baby’s health and immune system develop.
Studies have shown that there is a link between the intestinal bacterial composition of the fetus and asthma and atopic dermatitis.
In response, Andrew Shenan, director of clinical research at the National Institute of Health Research, commented that antibiotic administration for the mother before cesarean delivery is another evidence that it can help improve the health of the mother.
The findings were published in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ).