.png)
One of the most common infections can be found in the hospital. Clostridium Difficile, also known as C. Difficile, is a bacterium that causes diarrhea and other serious intestinal conditions.
C. Difficile is found in feces, and is spread when contaminated surfaces are touched and then the bacteria comes into contact with an individual’s mouth or nose. When there is a reduction of good bacteria in the intestines, C. Difficile can thrive and produce infection-causing toxins.
A link between C-Sections and C. Difficile has recently come to the attention of researchers. Children born in the hospital, especially by cesarean section, show the highest rates of infection. As well, C. Difficile has been tied to an increase in the development of allergies and asthma in children; kids who tested positive as babies for C. Difficile were twice as likely to develop asthma at age six or seven and were more likely to have eczema or food sensitivities.
A study performed in the Netherlands on 2700 subjects showed that 43% of children who were born by c-section carried the bacteria, only 27% of vaginally delivered babies carried the bacteria, and only 19% of homebirth babies carried C. Difficile.
Children delivered via c-section may come into contact with the virus if the hands of the nurses and doctors are contaminated with the bacteria. Vaginally delivered children are exposed to the mother’s feces in the birth canal and may come into contact with the bacteria in this way.
