There are various ways that a mother and/or infant could be exposed to situations that influence the microbial community in them.
- Mother could influence the infant’s microbrial community through her breastmilk if receiving antibiotics as they might increase antiviral resistance in the fetus.
- Changes immunologically that the mother experiences affects the development of the infant’s immune system. This would then disrupt the microbes that inhabit the infant.
- Vaginal delivery provides microbes that mirror the mother’s vaginal community while C-sections mirror those of the mother’s skin due to the epithelial tissue.
- The mother’s food intake during the pregnancy heavily influences the child’s GI tract microbiota.
- Weight also affect how the mother’s microbiota will be produced in the milk.
