Journal
NUTRIENTS
Volume 13, Issue 5, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/nu13051518
Keywords
body mass index; breastfeeding; microbiota
Categories
Funding
- European Research Council under the European Union [639226]
- Generalitat Valenciana-European Social Fund (GRISOLIA2019)
- Generalitat Valenciana-European Social Fund (ASCII2016)
- European Research Council (ERC) [639226] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)
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Breastfeeding plays a crucial role in neonatal microbial and immune system development, with pre-pregnancy BMI and weight gain during pregnancy affecting milk microbiota composition. Normal-weight women with exclusive breastfeeding habits showed higher abundance of Bifidobacterium genus and alpha-diversity in breast milk. Further research is needed to understand the potential impact of maternal factors on milk and infant development and health.
Breastfeeding is critical for adequate neonatal microbial and immune system development affecting neonate health outcomes in the short and long term. There is a great interest in ascertaining which are the maternal factors contributing to the milk microbiota and the potential relevance for the developing infant. Thus, our study aimed to characterize the effect of mixed and exclusive breastfeeding practices on the milk microbiota and to determine the impact of pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and weight gain over pregnancy on its composition. Breast milk samples from 136 healthy women were collected within the first month post-partum and milk microbiota profiling was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Information on breastfeeding habits and maternal-infant clinical data were recorded. Breastfeeding practices (exclusive vs. mixed), maternal pre-gestational BMI, and weight gain over pregnancy contributed to the milk microbiota variation. Pre-gestational normal-weight women with exclusive breastfeeding habits harbored a significantly higher abundance of Bifidobacterium genus, and also, higher alpha-diversity compared to the rest of the women. Our results confirm the importance of controlling weight during pregnancy and breastfeeding practices in terms of milk microbiota. Further studies to clarify the potential impact of these maternal factors on milk and infant development and health will be necessary.
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