Independent of Birth Mode or Gestational Age, Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants Fed Their Mothers' Milk Rapidly Develop Personalized Microbiotas Low in Bifidobacterium

ConclusionsExclusively mother's milk –fed VLBW infants rapidly develop personalized gut microbiotas that show increasing evenness and are seemingly unaffected by birth mode or gestational age at birth. The benefits from mother's milk feeding are likely modulated through microbes or pathways that are not dependent onBifidobacterium because these microbes are present at low levels in VLBW infants. These results help define a reference VLBW infant microbiota profile derived from mother's milk, the optimal source of nutrition for these infants. This trial was registered at ISRCTN (http://www.isrctn.com/) as ISRCTN35317141.
Source: Journal of Nutrition - Category: Nutrition Source Type: research