Diet during Pregnancy and Infancy and the Infant Intestinal Microbiome.

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Infant nutrition
• Human gut microbiota

Background:

• Diet during pregnancy and infancy influences infant health.
• The infant gut microbiome plays a crucial role in early development.
• Understanding dietary impacts on the infant microbiome is essential for health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between maternal and infant diets and the infant intestinal microbiome.
• To compare the effects of breastfeeding versus formula feeding on infant gut microbial composition.
• To explore the influence of solid food introduction and maternal diet on the infant gut microbiome.

Main Methods:

• Study included 323 infants from the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial.
• Maternal and infant dietary data collected via questionnaire.
• Infant stool samples analyzed using Roche 454 sequencing, stratified by race/ethnicity.

Main Results:

• Breastfeeding, compared to formula feeding, was independently associated with greater infant intestinal microbial diversity.
• Breastfeeding showed consistent associations with specific bacterial taxa (e.g., Bifidobacterium) linked to health.
• Maternal diet and solid food introduction had weaker associations with the infant gut microbiome than breastfeeding.

Conclusions:

• Breastfeeding is the most significant dietary factor associated with the infant intestinal microbiome.
• The impact of breastfeeding on the infant microbiome composition differs by child race/ethnicity.
• Further research is needed to explore genomic factors influencing microbiome response to diet.