Using Probiotics for Baby and Infant Health

Probiotics are the healthy bacteria that are naturally found in an infant's digestive system.Supplementing probiotics can cure your baby of many common health conditions.

When it comes to caring for an infant, clean is a top priority. Many parents sanitize everything their baby comes into contact with in an effort to protect her from harmful bacteria, which is why purposefully giving your baby bacteria can seem strange to many parents.

The human body is filled with bacteria; the important thing is to maintain a healthy balance between the beneficial bacteria and harmful bacteria that makes you sick. Supplementing probiotics, or healthy bacteria, can help keep your baby's immune and digestive system working properly, especially after she has been sick or has been through a round of antibiotics that strip the body of all bacteria, including the good ones.

What Are Probiotics?

Probiotics are the healthy bacteria that are naturally found in the body and help fight the bad bacteria that may be picked up through normal living. Probiotics are found naturally in the intestines of breastfed babies, however, recently several commercial formulas have started to include probiotics so formula-fed babies can receive some of the same benefits of breast-fed babies.

Probiotics are often used to restore the balance of healthy bacteria, especially after a round of antibiotics which kills all bacteria in the body, whether it is healthy or not. Probiotics are useful in treating a wide variety of infant conditions including, infant diarrhea, upset stomach, eczema, and many health conditions of pre-term infants. Many pediatricians recommend the use of probiotics to relieve digestive issues in infants.

The acidophilus-type microorganisms that predominate in the intestinal tracts of healthy, breast-fed infants are called Bifidobacteria. These beneficial microorganisms account for up to 99% of a healthy, breast-fed baby's intestinal flora i.e. babies probiotics.

Bifidobacteria or bifidus are now believed to be very important to a young child's well being. Research has shown that bottle-fed babies have far fewer Bifidobacteria in their stools than breast-fed babies; and after breast-fed babies have been weaned, the type of Bifidobacteria specific to infants and small children, called Bifidobacterium infantis, is found only in small numbers. These numbers continue to decline as the intestinal flora shifts towards what is normally found in adults.

Prevention Magazine reiterates that research and scientific interest in Bifidobacteria has continued to grow as it is shown that breast-fed babies are much less susceptible to infections than bottle-fed babies.

For example, a study of infant intestinal flora was conducted in a rural area of Guatemala. Out of 210 babies born in the village, 109 were breast-fed. The breast-fed infants showed high concentrations of Bifidobacteria - nearly 100%. Only 4 of the breast-fed babies developed Shigella infections that can cause severe diarrhea. But the rate of Shigella infection for the non-breast-fed infants was much higher.

Bifidobacteria (Bifidus) inhibit the colonization of the intestine by invading disease-causing bacteria through competition for nutrients and attachment sites.

They also produce anti-microbial substances that inhibit growth of common pathogens.

Nutritionally, Bifidobacteria encourage better weight gain in infants through nitrogen retention.

These babies probiotics also assist in the absorption of calcium and other vitamins and minerals and help to produce lactose, the enzyme necessary for milk sugar digestion.

Babies are naturally inoculated with Bifidobacteria infantis and other friendly and helpful microorganisms as they pass through the birth canal. These friendly bacteria enter the baby's intestines through the mouth and feverishly attempt to attach themselves to sites on the gastrointestinal wall before other not-so-friendly microorganisms from the outside world try to do the same.

Breast-feeding then fosters the growth of Bifidobacteria, particularly Bifidobacteria infantis. Babies delivered by Cesarean section do not receive such a healthy head start with these friendly microorganisms. If they are then bottle-fed as well, they end up with adult-type microflora that are not optimal for their health.

Even in healthy, breast-fed infants, however, the babies probiotics - intestinal flora - is relatively unstable. Small changes in an infant's environment may upset the balance of these friendly microorganisms, sometimes leading to bacterial "overgrowth" of the small intestine and stomach, reducing nutrient absorption and causing other types of problems.