Evidence · Research paper
Intestinal microbiota development and gestational age in preterm neonates.
- Breast milk and breastfeeding
- Infection
- Medical
- Necrotising enterocolitis
- Nutrition and gastrointestinal
This paper is from 2018, more than five years ago. Newer evidence may have been published since.
Summary
Observational cohort study of 45 breastfed very low birth weight preterm infants, characterising intestinal microbiota development from birth to 60 days using 16S rRNA sequencing of faecal samples. Gestational age was the main driver of microbiota development, antibiotics had strong but temporary effects, and birth mode had little influence. Colonisation progressed through phases dominated by Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, Enterobacter and then Bifidobacterium, with the Enterococcus phase seen only in extremely preterm infants. Findings suggest hospitalised breast milk-fed preterm infants can develop a microbiota resembling that of term infants.
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- Licence:
- Open (Creative Commons)
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