Probiotics for Child Health:
Generally speaking, probiotics are safe for kids, unless your child has a compromised immune system, cancer or is a premature infant. In that case, probiotics can put children at risk for infections. Some studies suggest that probiotics may be good for children. One study found that children who were given probiotics every day for three months were less likely to have respiratory problems and diarrhea than children who were given a placebo. Some research also suggests that probiotics help kids avoid conditions like autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma, but more research is needed. On the other hand, some researchers suggest that probiotics may not have much effect on children. Because their microbiome isn’t fully developed, probiotics may simply be passed as normal waste. For children, it’s generally better to get probiotics through foods instead of supplements, unless otherwise recommended by a pediatrician. Talk to your child’s pediatrician if you would like to use probiotics to help your child’s digestion.
Probiotics in Breast Milk:
Breast milk is not sterile but contains as many as 600 different species of various bacteria, including Bifidobacterium and Lactobacilli strains. These bacteria can come from the baby’s mouth, but more intriguingly they can also come from the mother’s gut. Studies suggest that immune cells in the mother’s gut can pick up bacteria and carry them around the body using the lymphatic system. These cells can then end up in the mammary glands and eventually in the breastmilk. A study showed that in 1 day-old newborns Enterococcus and Streptococcus were the microorganisms most frequently isolated. From 10 days of age until 3 months, bifidobacterial become the predominant group. Lactobacilli and bifidobacterial are some of the most common bacteria found in breast milk and may contribute to the initial establishment of the microbiota in the new born.