Baby poop is changing, science reveals. Here's why it matters


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/ Source: NBC News
By Maggie Fox








“A review of 14 clinical studies published between 1926 and 2017, representing more than 312 healthy breastfed infants, demonstrated a change in fecal pH from 5.0 to 6.5,” they wrote in their report, published in the journal mSphere.

A low pH indicates a fluid is more acidic, while anything with a pH of 7 or higher is considered more alkaline.

The change has accelerated since 1980, they added.


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There’s one particular species of Bifidobacteria that indicates a healthy gut. It’s called B. infantis. Babies with plenty of B infantis produced dirty diapers with more acidity than babies lacking in this bacteria, the researchers said.

Everyone carries a microbiome — a population of microbes such as bacteria and yeast that affect all sorts of functions, from absorbing food to immune response.

What is a healthy microbiome?

Babies are born almost sterile and they get the germs that will live with and on them from their mothers, their first meals, and their early handling and environment.

Researchers are trying to figure out what the elements of an optimal microbiome are. People with imbalances may be more prone to obesity, for instance.

And the digestive tract is an important front in the body’s immune system — something that makes sense, since animals take in many germs through food. The very first bacteria that show up in the digestive tract may influence how it develops.

A 2015 study showed that gut bacteria may affect a baby’s risk of asthma.


“Thus, the loss of Bifidobacterium and the profound change in the gut environment, as measured by fecal pH, present a compelling explanation for the increased incidence of allergic and autoimmune diseases observed in resource-rich nations."

Three main factors could be killing off these beneficial bacteria, Henrick’s team said.

1. Infant formula

Giving babies formula instead of breastmilk can affect which bacteria thrive in their bodies

2. Antibiotics

Moms are often given antibiotics to protect babies at birth and these antibiotics could kill off good bacteria.

3. C-section rates

Caesarean section births could deprive infants of a chance to collect good bacteria as they are born. In the US, rates have been declining since 2007, but one-third of births, or 1.2 million babies, were delivered by C-section in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The research team all work at Evolve BioSystems, which is developing commercial probiotics — products that people can eat or drink to improve their microbiomes.

So far, scientists don’t know for sure which good bacteria we all need more of. But studies such as this one can help guide them.

“This steady increase in the fecal pH of infants over the past several generations has largely gone unnoticed by the medical community, but looks to be an indication of a major disruption of the infant gut,” said David Kyle, chief scientific officer at Evolve BioSystems, Inc.

“This may be a significant contributor to the incidence of allergic and autoimmune disorders."