Cortés-Macías Erika, Selma-Royo Marta, Martínez-Costa Cecilia, Collado Maria Carmen
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, Spanish National Research Council (IATA-CSIC), 46980 Valencia, Spain.
Department of Pediatrics, INCLIVA Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, 46003 Valencia, Spain.
Nutrients. 2021 Apr 30;13(5):1518. doi: 10.3390/nu13051518.
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 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.
母乳喂养对于新生儿微生物群和免疫系统的充分发育至关重要，会在短期和长期影响新生儿的健康状况。人们非常关注确定哪些母体因素会影响乳汁微生物群，以及这些因素对发育中的婴儿的潜在相关性。因此，我们的研究旨在描述纯母乳喂养和混合喂养方式对乳汁微生物群的影响，并确定孕前体重指数（BMI）和孕期体重增加对其组成的影响。在产后第一个月内收集了136名健康女性的母乳样本，并通过16S rRNA基因测序分析了乳汁微生物群特征。记录了母乳喂养习惯和母婴临床数据。母乳喂养方式（纯母乳喂养与混合喂养）、孕前BMI和孕期体重增加都对乳汁微生物群的变化有影响。与其他女性相比，有纯母乳喂养习惯的孕前体重正常的女性，其乳汁中某属的丰度显著更高，并且α多样性也更高。我们的结果证实了在乳汁微生物群方面，孕期控制体重和母乳喂养方式的重要性。有必要进行进一步研究，以阐明这些母体因素对乳汁和婴儿发育及健康的潜在影响。
