Antibiotic Use, Cesarean Birth And Formula Feeding All Affect Infants’ Microbiomes, Studies Indicate.

“Two new studies” published in Science Translational Medicine “are offering some of the clearest snapshots yet of how babies build up protective gut bacteria, adding to evidence that antibiotics and birth by C-section may disrupt that development.” After following “infants through toddlerhood,” researchers “concluded that the first two to three years of life are a critical period for budding microbiomes.” STAT (6/15, Vlasits) reports that differences in children’s microbiomes “could put them at higher risk for various health problems in childhood, including asthma, type 1 diabetes, and perhaps even autism.” The studies can be seen here and here. The Atlantic (6/15, Yong) points out that both studies collected and analyzed stool samples from youngsters “over their first three years of life.” HealthDay (6/15, Dotinga) reports that in both studies, “investigators found that antibiotic use, cesarean birth and formula feeding all threw off the makeup of the microbiomes from levels considered normal,” in effect making the microbiomes “less diverse.” http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_BABY_BACTERIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-06-15-16-10-26