Early Life Events and Development of Gut Microbiota in Infancy

With its dynamic composition and function, the gut microbiome plays a key role in human development and long-term health. The first 2 years of life are crucial to the early establishment of the gut microbiome. During early life, the gut microbial composition rapidly changes and multiple factors influence the initial colonization, development, and function of the neonatal gut microbiome. In addition, alterations in early-life gut microbial composition linked to necrotizing enterocolitis in infancy, as well as some chronic diseases in later, including obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, allergies, asthma, and neurological diseases associated with the gut-brain axis. In this review, we focus on both maternal and infant factors known to influence early-life gut colonization.