A Timely Birth: Part 3 - Cultivating Good Bacteria

Cultivating Good Bacteria

How can a woman GET an acidic vagina? The old time vinegar douche is an acidic wash and effective treatment for BV and yeast. Vinegar’s mild cleansing action is stronger against undesirable bacteria than against Lactobacilli, and it has a short residual effect, which helps encourage rapid regrowth of Lactobacilli. (In pregnancy, a woman should seek her caregiver’s advice and use only a low-pressure, low-level douche.)

An infusion of two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide kills BV and helps Lactobacilli colonize. But recent research shows that Lactobacilli themselves are the source of most of the acid produced in a healthy vagina! They create their own optimum growth pH. “Lactobacilli bacteria, not epithelial cells, are the primary source of lactic acid in the vagina,” according to an article in Human Reproduction.⁽¹⁶⁾

So…a woman can get an acidic vagina by GROWING the Lactobacilli. How? By planting them—just like any good gardener!

Researchers are working on a twopronged approach to using Lactobacilli as a natural antibiotic. Some are trying to analyze, isolate and replicate the effective ingredient, while others are working on methods to establish optimum vaginal growth. Pharmaceutical companies want to create a Lactobacilli super pill, but I think we women should do our own home gardening!

Yogurt—Vaginal Application

Many methods have been advised for colonizing the vagina directly. Wearing a tampon soaked in yogurt is an old folk remedy used for yeast infections (it works!). The yogurt can be used like a cream gently squeezed in with a bulb syringe.

Many strains of Lactobacilli exist. You can purchase acidophilus compounds and special “probiotics” at some pharmacies and most health food stores. But good yogurt contains live cultures, is readily available, inexpensive and proven to be effective. In the Tasdemir study, pregnant women with bacterial vaginosis were treated with commercial yogurt. The yogurt was administered daily with a 10 ml syringe for seven days and then was repeated after a one-week interval. All the women showed clinical improvement on the third day of treatment. A month after the second treatment, 90% of the women had no signs or symptoms of bacterial vaginosis. The researchers concluded: “Commercially available yogurt may restore the microenvironment and pH of the vagina,” cure BV and “prevent prematurity.”⁽¹⁷⁾

In another study, from Japan, women with BV were treated with intravaginal application of 5 ml of commercial yogurt. In the initial cultures, 29 strains of bacteria were detected. The women were evaluated and recultured three days later. There was significant decrease in discharge and vaginal redness, and the vaginal pH was lowered significantly (acidified). All 14 strains of Gram-negative bacteria disappeared! The researchers concluded that “the Lactobacilli therapy was effective in both clinical and bacteriological responses.”⁽¹⁸⁾ In other words, improvement occurred in both the SYMPTOMS and the cultures.