Colin
- Babies born during pandemic-era lockdowns have an altered gut microbiome
- Only 17% of infants born during lockdown needed antibiotics by one year of age
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Lockdowns during the Covid pandemic led to two ‘fascinating’ changes in babies bodies that may have protected them against disease and allergies, a study has found.
Researchers from University College Cork in Ireland found that children born while the world was locked down during Covid had an altered gut microbiome – the ecosystem of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria in the gut that aid in digestion, destroys harmful bacteria and helps control the immune system.
The biome was found to be more beneficial in the infants.
Researchers believe this led ‘Covid babies’ to have lower than expected rates of allergic conditions, such as food allergies, compared to pre-pandemic babies, the scientists found.
They also required fewer antibiotics to treat illnesses.
Researchers analyzed fecal samples from 351 Irish babies born in the first three months of the pandemic, between March and May 2020, and compared them to samples from babies born before the pandemic.
Online questionnaires were used to collect information on diet, home environment and health to account for variables.
