Article Commentary: The influence of early infant-feeding practices on the intestinal microbiome and body composition in infants

摘要: Despite many years of widespread international recommendations to support exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, common hospital feeding and birthing practices do not coincide with the necessary steps to support exclusive breastfeeding. These common hospital practices can lead to the infant receiving formula in the first weeks of life despite mothers’ dedication to exclusively breastfeed. Consequently, these practices play a role in the alarmingly high rate of formula-feeding worldwide. Formula-feeding has been shown to alter the infant gut microbiome in favor of proinflammatory taxa and increase gut permeability and bacterial load. Furthermore, several studies have found that formula-feeding increases the risk of obesity in later childhood. While research has demonstrated differences in the intestinal microbiome and body growth between exclusively breast versus formula-fed infants, very little is …