Pregnancy & early life

News Watch

It has long been suspected that the way we are born plays a key role in determining which microorganisms would colonize our guts. Now, these suspicions have been confirmed by the largest ever study of newborns’ gut microbiota and the impact of delivery methods. According to the new research, babies born by Caesarean section have different gut bacteria to those…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

It has long been suspected that the way we are born plays a key role in determining which microorganisms would colonize our guts. Now, these suspicions have been confirmed by the largest ever study of newborns’ gut microbiota and the impact of delivery methods. According to the new research, babies born by Caesarean section have different gut bacteria to those…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

Human milk is the gold standard for infant nutrition, as it contains bioactive compounds that help support the development of the infant gut microbiota and immune system. However, for a variety of reasons, not all infants can be exclusively breastfed. “The Biotics Family in Early Life,” is an essential knowledge briefing from Wiley. The book discusses how the use of dietary…

Megan Mouw
Megan Mouw holds a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from McGill University (Canada). Driven by her experiences at UCSF medical center in San Francisco, Megan is passionate about the role that the gut microbiota plays in maintaining health and wellness. She is currently perusing graduate studies in Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology at the University of California Santa Cruz and hopes to share her love of science through writing.

Human milk is the gold standard for infant nutrition, as it contains bioactive compounds that help support the development of the infant gut microbiota and immune system. However, for a variety of reasons, not all infants can be exclusively breastfed. “The Biotics Family in Early Life,” is an essential knowledge briefing from Wiley. The book discusses how the use of dietary…

Megan Mouw
Megan Mouw holds a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from McGill University (Canada). Driven by her experiences at UCSF medical center in San Francisco, Megan is passionate about the role that the gut microbiota plays in maintaining health and wellness. She is currently perusing graduate studies in Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology at the University of California Santa Cruz and hopes to share her love of science through writing.

The UN recently warned that antibiotic resistance will be the leading cause of death in the world by 2050. As the number of bacteria resistant to antibiotics continues to grow, infections will no longer be effectively treated. Some estimates suggest that 200,000 newborns die worldwide every year of infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. In fact, the number of bacteria…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

The UN recently warned that antibiotic resistance will be the leading cause of death in the world by 2050. As the number of bacteria resistant to antibiotics continues to grow, infections will no longer be effectively treated. Some estimates suggest that 200,000 newborns die worldwide every year of infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria. In fact, the number of bacteria…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

In Canada, 3,500 kids and their families are part of the CHILD Cohort Study, which is a large research project that is figuring out how the human microbiome influences allergies, asthma, obesity, and our everyday health and wellbeing, especially during childhood. Find out in the next video, produced by AllerGen NCE Inc., how the gut microbiota can be altered by many…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

In Canada, 3,500 kids and their families are part of the CHILD Cohort Study, which is a large research project that is figuring out how the human microbiome influences allergies, asthma, obesity, and our everyday health and wellbeing, especially during childhood. Find out in the next video, produced by AllerGen NCE Inc., how the gut microbiota can be altered by many…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Think about this: from the moment you are conceived until you are 1000 days old, your growth is exponential, faster than in any other period of life. For the first 9 months, you go from two cells to a newborn measuring 50cm in length and 3 kg weight. Then, between birth and 3 years of age, your body size doubles…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

Think about this: from the moment you are conceived until you are 1000 days old, your growth is exponential, faster than in any other period of life. For the first 9 months, you go from two cells to a newborn measuring 50cm in length and 3 kg weight. Then, between birth and 3 years of age, your body size doubles…

Cristina Sáez
Cristina Saez is a freelance science journalist. She works for several media, for instance the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, where she coordinates the science section, Big Vang; as well as research centres and scientific societies. She has been awarded for her journalistic work, among others, with the Boehringer Ingelheim Award in Medical Journalism 2015. Follow Cristina on Twitter @saez_cristina

Research & Practice

Human milk contains nutrients, bioactive compounds and commensal bacteria that may improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Milk’s microbial composition varies greatly between women but the factors that might explain this variation remain unknown. A new longitudinal cohort investigation, led by Dr. Carolina de Weerth from Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, has found for the first time associations…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Human milk contains nutrients, bioactive compounds and commensal bacteria that may improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Milk’s microbial composition varies greatly between women but the factors that might explain this variation remain unknown. A new longitudinal cohort investigation, led by Dr. Carolina de Weerth from Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, has found for the first time associations…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Breast milk has been reported as a multifunctional fluid, which includes human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) that may influence the development of the gut microbiota and the training of a newborn baby's immune system. A recent pilot study led by Dr. Mireille van Poppel and colleagues from the University of Graz and BioTechMed-Graz in Austria has revealed that during pregnancy, HMOs…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Breast milk has been reported as a multifunctional fluid, which includes human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) that may influence the development of the gut microbiota and the training of a newborn baby's immune system. A recent pilot study led by Dr. Mireille van Poppel and colleagues from the University of Graz and BioTechMed-Graz in Austria has revealed that during pregnancy, HMOs…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Preterm infants exhibit higher rates of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which is a major cause of both mortality and neurodevelopmental morbidity. Although an altered gut microbiota composition and metabolome has been found in preterm infants, the few studies exploring the microbiome in NEC and preterm infants have reported inconsistent results. Within the mechanisms by which the development of NEC occurs, a…

Andreu Prados
Andreu Prados holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy & Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Science writer specialised in gut microbiota and probiotics, working also as lecturer and consultant in nutrition and healthcare. Follow Andreu on Twitter @andreuprados

Preterm infants exhibit higher rates of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which is a major cause of both mortality and neurodevelopmental morbidity. Although an altered gut microbiota composition and metabolome has been found in preterm infants, the few studies exploring the microbiome in NEC and preterm infants have reported inconsistent results. Within the mechanisms by which the development of NEC occurs, a…

Andreu Prados
Andreu Prados holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy & Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Science writer specialised in gut microbiota and probiotics, working also as lecturer and consultant in nutrition and healthcare. Follow Andreu on Twitter @andreuprados

Maternal physiology and metabolism during pregnancy adjust so the fetus may grow healthy. As part of these changes, the gut microbiota evolves towards a pro-inflammatory profile, which contributes to a healthy pregnancy. Even so, the extent to which gut microbiota alterations induced by pregnancy and lactation may change autoimmune mechanisms that are involved in disease has not yet been explored.…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Maternal physiology and metabolism during pregnancy adjust so the fetus may grow healthy. As part of these changes, the gut microbiota evolves towards a pro-inflammatory profile, which contributes to a healthy pregnancy. Even so, the extent to which gut microbiota alterations induced by pregnancy and lactation may change autoimmune mechanisms that are involved in disease has not yet been explored.…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Preterm infants are at a high risk of growth failure that may affect their long-term health outcomes. Different factors have been involved in the etiology of postnatal growth failure in preterm infants, but despite research efforts regarding clinical management, growth failure rates continue to increase. Although differences in gut microbiota composition have been found in preterm infants compared with full-term…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team

Preterm infants are at a high risk of growth failure that may affect their long-term health outcomes. Different factors have been involved in the etiology of postnatal growth failure in preterm infants, but despite research efforts regarding clinical management, growth failure rates continue to increase. Although differences in gut microbiota composition have been found in preterm infants compared with full-term…

GMFH Editing Team
GMFH Editing Team