And in those four cases, the second drug in the two-drug regimen was administered vaginally rather than orally.

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In the study, infants born by C-section had fewer colonies of Escherichia and Shigella bacteria than those born vaginally.

CNN: Connection between dirty diapers, childhood health

Promising results have also been achieved with a vaginally applied microbicide, which protected 39% of women in a trial in South Africa.

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In a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers led by Anita Kozyrskyj found that babies born by C-section harbored a different set of microbes in their digestive tracts than those born vaginally, and that infants who were breast-fed had a different recipe of bacteria in their guts than those who were given formula.

CNN: Connection between dirty diapers, childhood health