Infant gut flora may come from multiple parts of the mother

Previous research has suggested that babies are born sterile and that the establishment of their gut microbiota is only influenced by bacteria in the surrounding environment

The research team used a combination of third-generation sequencing and droplet digital PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology to study meconium, maternal feces, amniotic fluid, birth canal fluid, breast milk and maternal saliva samples from 41 pairs of maternal and infant volunteers.

The microbiota similarity of meconium, amniotic fluid, birth canal fluid, and breast milk was significantly higher than that of other maternal-derived samples, which indicated that the gut microbiota structure of early infants was closely related to the living environment (amniotic fluid) and the delivery process before childbirth.

In addition, the research team also found that the absolute content of Lactobacillus in the meconium of naturally delivered babies was significantly higher than that of babies delivered by cesarean section

The research results of this project reveal and prove that infant meconium microbes come from multiple maternal sites, among which amniotic fluid microbiota contributes the most to meconium microbiota, which provides an important reference for in-depth understanding of the origin of human gut microbes