If I was in a funding agency, I would propose funding research for initial microbiome growth in infants and fetuses. In class, we talked about the introduction of the microbiome to a baby from the mother and mode of birth. I think it would be interesting to invest in research on pollution effects on pregnancy. I think as our environment becomes more polluted with plastic and other undegradable material, more of it affects our health. There is research already of how much of our food and other products of daily use are contaminated with this material. I am now wondering if there are any effects of these contaminants on our microbiome. The indigestibility of these contaminants must affect us somehow. Moreover, could contamination be the source/explanation for arising a hypothesis against the ‘sterile womb’ idea. Multiple studies have now disvalued the idea of an ‘in utero colonization’ but this is because it was attributed to a natural process. There could be more exploration if we look at the effects of contamination and its permeability to the placenta. What do these microplastics take with them or affect a fetus’s introduction to microorganisms? This research could lead to more clarity on the sterile womb controversial debate. This might also influence how the doctors advise pregnant women by considering contaminants of our environments.
