The Power of Your Child’s Gut Microbiome

Dr. Domenique Barbaro
4 days ago
3 min read

with the incredible Dr. Domenique

Is your little one always sick? Do they struggle with eczema, allergies or asthma? Do they have trouble focusing or struggle with mental health challenges like

anxiety? These common pediatric concerns all have one thing in common – your

child’s gut health may need attention.

It sounds weird at first. How does my child’s gut health impact all of these conditions?

The answer: through the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome is the collection of

microorganisms that live in our digestive tract and the environment in which they live. The gut microbiome is linked to the health of many body systems including the nervous system, immune system and digestive system to name a few. The gut is often referred to as the body’s “second brain” as it is where 90% of our serotonin is produced (our happiness hormone). It is also home to 70-80% of the immune system (yup - shocking), which makes it a key player in strengthening your child’s immunity.

When the gut microbiome is missing beneficial bacteria or has too much bad bacteria, the results are significant. How do these imbalances happen? Birth history (caesarean vs. vaginal delivery), feeding history (breastfed vs. formula fed) and history of antibiotic and medication use are a few ways the microbiome can be changed and heavily impacted. A couple statistics to paint this picture – prescribing antibiotics and antacids in the first six months of life may more than double the risk of developing every allergic disease by the time a child is four (includes asthma, eczema, anaphylactic allergies and

more). 1 Additionally, antibiotic use during the first two years of life can increase the risk of mental health concerns like ADHD, sleep disorders and anxiety later in childhood and adolescence by up to 50%. 2 This is not to say we should avoid medications as they are often lifesaving and necessary to treating disease– but healing the gut alongside and following their use is critical.

The good news is that optimizing the gut in childhood is often simple and successful in the world of pediatrics. The gut microbiome is rapidly developing in the first 1000 days of life making this the best time to intervene, but even past that point the microbiome is still malleable in childhood and adolescence in comparison to adulthood – it is never too late to start working on your child’s gut. Whether it is constipation, tummy aches, eczema patches, food sensitivities, attention and behavioural changes or frequent infections – all of these childhood ailments can be optimized by giving some attention to the gut. Naturopathic Medicine offers a wide array of modalities that can support your child’s microbiome, such as nutritional guidance, herbal support, supplementation, stool

testing and more.

If you want to learn more about how to support your little one’s gut health or overall health in general, book a free consultation with Dr. Domenique, ND here:

https://framefidelity.janeapp.com/#/staff_member/20

Dr. Domenique Barbaro, N.D.

References

1. Edward Mitre, Apryl Susi, Laura Kropp, et al., “Association Between Use of Acid-

Suppressive Medications and Antibiotics During Infancy and Allergic Diseases in

Childhood,” JAMA Pediatrics 172, no. 6 ( June 2018): e180315. https://pubmed

.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29610864/; Sidney E. Zen, Apryl Susi, Edward Mitre, and Cade

M. Nylund, “Association Between Use of Multiple Classes of Antibiotic in Infancy

and Allergic Disease in Children,” JAMA Pediatrics 174, no. 2 (February 2020):

199–200. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6990912/.

2. Catharina Lavebratt, Liu L. Yang, MaiBritt Giacobini, et al., “Early Exposure to

Antibiotic Drugs and Risk for Psychiatric Disorders: A Population-Based Study,”