Maternal antimicrobial use at delivery has a stronger impact than mode of delivery on bifidobacterial colonization in infants: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate factors related to bifidobacterial colonization in early infancy, with a focus on maternal antimicrobial use at delivery. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional pilot study was performed. Feces samples of 33 Japanese healthy infants were collected over 10 months and analyzed by next-generation sequencing to examine the diversity and abundance of the gut microbiota. RESULTS: The beta diversity index of the gut microbiota differed significantly based on maternal antimicrobial use at delivery (P < 0.05). The most dominant genus was bifidobacteria, and the relative abundance of bifidobacteria in infants exposed to maternal antibiotics was significantly lower than in those who were not exposed (P < 0.05). In contrast, the delivery mode showed no significant relationship with gut microbiota diversity. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal antimicrobial use at delivery has a stronger effect than delivery mode on the gut microbiota, especially for colonization of bifidobacteria.