Newborn babies get their first microbiome from their mother’s vagina during birth.  The baby will become covered with this beneficial bacterial as they come out of the protected environment of the womb, through the birth canal, and to the world beyond.  When the baby is born vaginally, they will have a gut microbiome similar to that of their mother’s vaginal and fecal flora.  This helps set up lifelong gut health.  But for babies not born vaginally, there are other ways to help insure good gut health.  Join us for a thought-provoking discussion of why microbiome is important and how to help families advocate for procedures that will be beneficial for themselves and their baby.  

Toni Harman is a graduate of the London Film School and has produced and directed a number of internationally-distributed documentary films, including: MICROBIRTH (about the origins of the human microbiome), FREEDOM FOR BIRTH (about the struggle for women’s rights in childbirth), and DOULA! (about the work of birth and postnatal doulas). Toni’s extensive research for MICROBIRTH led to her co-authoring the books THE MICROBIRTH EFFECT and YOUR BABY’s MICROBIOME. Toni is a professional speaker at international conferences about the science of the microbiome and epigenetics. She also leads the MICROBIOME COURSES online school. Toni combines knowledge gained from researching the subject for ten years with her extensive experience of running educational one-day and multiple-day workshops for adult learners.  

Listen and Learn:

  • Why microbiome is so necessary for healthy humans, starting at birth 
  • How initial microbiome is transferred from mother to baby 
  • What happens with the microbiome if the baby is born by cesarean 
  • Processes other than birth that can help increase a newborn’s microbiome 
  • How we can teach these important facts to pregnant and new families 
  • How mothers can increase the beneficial parts of their microbiome for their own health and their baby’s 

Resources & Mentions: 

https://microbirth.com and https://microbirth.teachable.com 

Get in touch with Toni Harman:  [email protected]  

Related Products from InJoy: 

Understanding Birth Curriculum