The human milk microbiome changes over lactation and is shaped by maternal weight and mode of delivery
Open accessAbstract
Background Breast milk is recognized as the most important postpartum element in metabolic and immunologic programming of health of neonates. The factors influencing the milk microbiome and the potential impact of microbes on infant health have not yet been uncovered.Objective Our objective was to identify pre- and postnatal factors that can potentially influence the bacterial communities inhabiting human milk.Design We characterized the milk microbial community at 3 different time points by pyrosequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction in mothers (n = 18) who varied in BMI, weight gain, and mode of delivery.Results We found that the human milk microbiome changes over lactation. Weisella, Leuconostoc, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Lactococcus were predominant in colostrum samples, whereas in 1- and 6-mo milk samples the typical inhabitants of the oral cavity (eg, Veillonella, Leptotrichia, and Prevotella) increased significantly. Milk from obese mothers tended to contain a different and less diverse bacterial community compared with milk from normal-weight mothers. Milk samples from elective but not from nonelective mothers who underwent cesarean delivery contained a different bacterial community than did milk samples from individuals giving birth by vaginal delivery, suggesting that it is not the operation per se but rather the absence of physiological stress or hormonal signals that could influence the microbial transmission process to milk.Conclusions Our results indicate that milk bacteria are not contaminants and suggest that the milk microbiome is influenced by several factors that significantly skew its composition. Because bacteria present in breast milk are among the very first microbes entering the human body, our data emphasize the necessity to understand the biological role that the milk microbiome could potentially play for human health.
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Human milk harbors a unique microbial community, including commensal, mutualistic, and probiotic bacteria, some of which can be found as first colonizers of the neonatal gut.
“Human milk harbors a unique microbial community, including commensal, mutualistic, and probiotic bacteria, some of which can be found as first colonizers of the neonatal gut (258, 259).”
From Diet and the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis: Sowing the Seeds of Good Mental Health (2021) · cites this paper as [258]
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- Authors
- Cabrera-Rubio, R., Collado, M. C., Laitinen, K., Salminen, S., Isolauri, E., & Mira, A.
- Corresponding author
- Collado, M Carmen
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-09
- Volume
- 96
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 544-551
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2116758389
- Cited by
- 886
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 24 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 66 · 2021: 84 · 2020: 94 · 2019: 72 · 2018: 73 · 2017: 74 · 2016: 72 · 2015: 77 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 49.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Infant Nutrition and Health
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Breastfeeding Practices and Influences
- Keywords
- human milk microbiome, lactation, maternal obesity, gestational weight gain, mode of delivery, cesarean section, vaginal delivery, colostrum, bacterial community composition, Leuconostoc, Veillonella, Prevotella, Leptotrichia, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Lactococcus, infant health, neonatal microbiome
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Colostrum, Feeding Methods, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Gram-Negative Bacteria, Gram-Positive Bacteria, Humans, Lactation, Milk, Human, Obesity, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Weight Gain, Body Mass Index, Principal Component Analysis, Delivery, Obstetric, Molecular Typing
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