Molly Fox – “Contact with caregivers is associated with composition of the infant gastrointestinal microbiome in the first 6 months of life”

Little is known about how physical contact at birth and early caregiving environments influence the colonization of the infant gastrointestinal microbiome. We investigated how infant contact with caregivers at birth and within the first 2 weeks of life relates to the composition of the gastrointestinal microbiome in a sample of U.S. infants (n = 60).

 

Discussion

Results reveal a potential mechanism (skin-to-skin and physical contact) by which caregivers influence the infant gastrointestinal microbiome. Our findings contribute to work exploring the social transmission of microbes.

To read more, please follow this link: Contact with caregivers is associated with composition of the infant gastrointestinal microbiome in the first 6 months of life – Wiley – 2024 – American Journal of Biological Anthropology – Wiley Online Library