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The Bern Birth Cohort (BeBiCo) to study the development of the infant intestinal microbiota in a high-resource
Luca Cecchini1, Colette Barmaz1, Maria José Coloma Cea1
1Department for BioMedical Research (DBMR), Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, University of Bern, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Freiburgstr. 18, 3010, Bern, Switzerland.
Insights
The infant gut microbiome undergoes significant changes in the first two years, influenced by maternal factors and environment. This study tracks infant microbiota development to understand its impact on health and neurodevelopment.
Area of Science:
- Human Microbiome Research
- Pediatric Health
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Infant intestinal microbiota composition is critical for health, changing significantly within the first two years of life.
- Early life microbial colonization is influenced by maternal seeding, breast milk, nutrition, and environmental factors.
- Understanding healthy infant microbiota development is essential for identifying microbiota-dependent pathologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the trajectory of infant intestinal microbiota development during the first two years of life.
- To assess the impact of maternal factors, nutrition, and environment on infant microbiota maturation.
- To correlate infant microbiota and maternal milk parameters with infant growth, development, health, and mental well-being.
Main Methods:
- Enrollment of 250 healthy pregnant women and follow-up of mother-baby pairs for 10 years.
- Collection of maternal and infant biological samples (stool, milk, swabs) at multiple time points.
- 16S and metagenomic sequencing to analyze infant gut microbiota composition and metabolic potential; assessment of clinical, nutritional, and neuro-developmental outcomes.
Main Results:
- The study will provide detailed descriptions and normal ranges for microbiota maturation in a high-resource setting.
- Comparison with data from low-resource settings will be performed.
- Associations between microbiota and common childhood conditions (allergies, obesity, neurodevelopmental outcomes) will be investigated.
Conclusions:
- The Bern birth cohort study will offer insights into early-life microbial development and its long-term health implications.
- This research will establish reference ranges for infant microbiota maturation.
- Findings will contribute to understanding the interplay between the microbiome, environment, and child health outcomes.
Background:
Microbiota composition is fundamental to human health with the intestinal microbiota undergoing critical changes within the first two years of life. The developing intestinal microbiota is shaped by maternal seeding, breast milk and its complex constituents, other nutrients, and the environment. Understanding microbiota-dependent pathologies requires a profound understanding of the early development of the healthy infant microbiota.
Methods:
Two hundred and fifty healthy pregnant women (≥20 weeks of gestation) from the greater Bern area will be enrolled at Bern University hospital's maternity department. Participants will be followed as mother-baby pairs at delivery, week(s) 1, 2, 6, 10, 14, 24, 36, 48, 96, and at years 5 and 10 after birth. Clinical parameters describing infant growth and development, morbidity, and allergic conditions as well as socio-economic, nutritional, and epidemiological data will be documented. Neuro-developmental outcomes and behavior will be assessed by child behavior checklists at and beyond 2 years of age. Maternal stool, milk, skin and vaginal swabs, infant stool, and skin swabs will be collected at enrolment and at follow-up visits. For the primary outcome, the trajectory of the infant intestinal microbiota will be characterized by 16S and metagenomic sequencing regarding composition, metabolic potential, and stability during the first 2 years of life. Secondary outcomes will assess the cellular and chemical composition of maternal milk, the impact of nutrition and environment on microbiota development, the maternal microbiome transfer at vaginal or caesarean birth and thereafter on the infant, and correlate parameters of microbiota and maternal milk on infant growth, development, health, and mental well-being.
Discussion:
The Bern birth cohort study will provide a detailed description and normal ranges of the trajectory of microbiota maturation in a high-resource setting. These data will be compared to data from low-resource settings such as from the Zimbabwe-College of Health-Sciences-Birth-Cohort study. Prospective bio-sampling and data collection will allow studying the association of the microbiota with common childhood conditions concerning allergies, obesity, neuro-developmental outcomes , and behaviour. Trial registration The trial has been registered at www.
Clinicaltrials:
gov , Identifier: NCT04447742.
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