Antibiotic-induced Disruption of the Microbiota

Antibiotic-induced Disruption of the Maternal and Infant Microbiota and Adverse Health Outcomes - The ABERRANT Study

The use of antibiotics causes profound changes in the microbiota. However, the magnitude of the effect of intrapartum and early-life antibiotics on the breast milk and the infant oral and intestinal microbiota, and whether effects are only short-term or persist long-term remain uncertain and will be determined in this study.

In this prospective cohort study, the investigators will determine the effect of (i) intrapartum antibiotics on the composition of the breast milk, and the infant oral and intestinal microbiota and antibiotic exposure in the first year of life on the composition of the infant intestinal microbiota (including the development and persistence of antibiotic resistance) and (ii) the association of this disruption with adverse health outcomes. (iii) The investigators will also determine the association between the maternal intestinal microbiota, the breast milk microbiota and the infant oral and intestinal microbiota.

Inclusion Criteria:

• healthy infants
• term infants (> 37 weeks of gestation)

Exclusion Criteria:

• maternal HIV infection
• maternal hepatitis B or C infection
• antibiotics in the third trimester of pregnancy
• intake of probiotics during pregnancy
• infants with the low birth weight <2500 g
• infants with congenital abnormality