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Could baby’s first bacteria take root before birth?

The womb was thought to be sterile, but some scientists argue that it’s where the microbiome begins.
  1. Cassandra Willyard

    1. Cassandra Willyard is a freelance journalist based in Madison, Wisconsin.

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A baby gestures minutes after he was born

Most infants first come into contact with microbes during birth — or so researchers have assumed. Credit: Edgard Garrido/Reuters

Soon after conception, a human embryo begins to assemble a remarkable organ crucial to its survival. The placenta is both a lifeline and a guardian: it shuttles oxygen, nutrients and immune molecules from the mother’s bloodstream to her developing fetus, but it also serves as a barrier against infections. For more than a century, doctors have assumed that this ephemeral structure — like the fetus and the womb itself — is sterile, unless something goes wrong.

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Nature 553, 264-266 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-00664-8

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