Grant: Operating Grant

There are many microorganisms that normally grow in the gut and keep us healthy. Babies are born without gut organisms but pick them up early in life, usually by coming into contact with microorganisms from their mother, which creates a gut flora, or mixture of microorganisms. Our study will determine if different birth experiences and exposures early in life change how the microorganisms in the gut develop after the birth. We think that if the baby grows a gut flora early in life that is different than usual it may stay that way into later life. Other research has shown that people with obesity and with diabetes have gut flora that is different than normal. It is possible that changes in the gut flora in the early days of life may be associated with conditions later in childhood such as obesity. We will test if babies who develop unusual gut flora in the early days and weeks of life still have unusual flora when they are one and three years old. We will also test if the gut flora is related to health outcomes at 3 years. About 240 pregnant women, planning to have a vaginal birth will be enrolled in this study along with their babies. Women will provide 8 diapers that contain stool from their babies in the first 3 years of life in order for the gut organisms to be analysed. We will also monitor the growth of each baby until they are three years old. A small number of studies of the early gut flora have been done by others but none have been done with this many babies, or collected as much detailed information as our study will collect. Many studies looked only at one stool sample. We will be able to examine changes over the first three years of life for a moderate size group of babies, which will strengthen our findings. Our study will be important in helping care providers understand the importance of how babies are born in terms of the influence it might have much later in life. These findings could change the way we practice.