There are several factors that the mother and infant could be exposed to that may influence the colonization of the microbial community in the newborn infant. First, the mother’s diet could affect the infant’s microbiome. As the fetus develops in the womb, all the nutrients it receives comes from what the mother eats. For instance, if the mother makes healthy eating choices while pregnant, most likely, the fetus will also be positively affected. On the other hand, choices such as drinking alcohol, smoking, and taking antibiotics will harm the infant. When the mother is severely ill, ingesting antibiotics will negatively harm the developing microbiome in the fetus because it does not target specifically only the “bad” bacteria, but it also harms “good” bacteria in the gut microbiome. Another potential factor that may influence the microbiome newborn infants is the mode of delivery. This is important in the development of the infant’s initial microbiota because the fetus is exposed to other microorganisms such as vaginal microbiome. Furthermore, whether the fetus is fed breastmilk or formula largely affects the microbiome as well. This is because breastmilk has beneficial bacteria that colonize the infant’s gut–which helps the baby’s growing immune system and metabolism.
