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Some data suggest cesarean delivery is associated with increased risk for asthma and other allergic disorders, possibly because the infant's gastrointestinal tract is initially colonized with microflora from maternal skin and the environment rather than from the maternal gut as occurs in infants delivered vaginally. While these discrepancies in neonatal gut microbiome are present soon after birth, they disappear within 6 months. In one study, vaginal seeding was performed in 4 infants within 2 minutes of cesarean birth: A swab inoculated with maternal vaginal secretions was wiped across the infant's mouth, face, and skin. The gut microbiome resembled that of infants delivered vaginally. Notably, mothers were negative for group B streptococc…