Influence of Feeding Practices on Intestinal Microbiota Composition in Healthy Chinese Infants: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

<p>Introduction: This study investigates the impact of different feeding methods (direct breastfeeding, expressed milk feeding, formula feeding) on the infant microbiota at 6 weeks of age. Methods: A total of 217 healthy infants stool samples were collected from Hong Kong between August 2018 and December 2019. Results: Various microbial taxa, including the genera Enterobacter and Raoultella were identified in the expressed breast milk feeding group. The richness and composition of the major bacterial phyla showed similar abundance between direct breastfeeding and expressed breast milk. Discussion: These findings suggests that these bacteria may have colonized the milk during expression or could be introduced from other external sources. The mode of breastfeeding did not significantly alter microbiota parameters in the infant gut at 6 weeks.<br></p>