NEWSLETTER: 116th Abbott Nutrition Research Conference on The Maternal Microbiome & Perinatal Colonization

Abstract:

Highlights from the 116th Abbott Nutrition Research Conference on The Maternal Microbiome & Perinatal Colonization, including these:

• Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota is associated with allergies, asthma, autism, colon cancer, Crohn’s disease, COPD, diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. (p 5)
• During development, a fetus can be “misinformed” by maternal pharmaceutical exposure, malnutrition, inflammatory diseases, and dysglycemia. (p 6)
• The gut microbiome may regulate metabolic and cardiovascular health in pregnancy. (p 7)
• Prenatal exposure to stress leads to alterations in the gut microbiome in a preclinical model. (p 7)
• Although milk produced by healthy moms was once thought to be sterile, emerging research suggests that it contains a diverse and live microbial community. (p 8)
• Bifidobacteria support infant health by: inhibiting pathogens, regulating metabolic function, and promoting SCFA production. (p 9)
• The microbiome of full-term vaginally born, exclusively human milk-fed infants with no previous exposure to antibiotics can be considered the “gold standard.” (p 9)
• Up to one-third of preterm births may follow microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity. (p 10)
• Human milk partially corrects gut dysbiosis and decreases the risk of NEC in preterm infants. (p 11)