Early-life gut microbiota development from maternal vertical transmission

Abstract

The gut microbiota of early life is crucial for childhood growth and development. Maternal gut microbiota directly or indirectly affects the colonization and development of early-life gut microbiota. Factors such as delivery mode, feeding mode, gestational age at birth, diet, and antibiotic use, can influence the vertical transmission of maternal gut microbiota to infants and affect the development of metabolic, endocrine, neural, and immune pathways in the early life. In this review, we summarize the latest knowledge of factors affecting early-life gut microbiota from maternal vertical transmission.