Relationship among maternal gut, vaginal microbiota and microbiota in meconium and vernix caseosa in newborns

Objective·To analyze the diversity and composition of the maternal gut microbiota and vaginal microbiota in late pregnancy, neonatal meconium microbiota and vernix caseosa microbiota, and analyze the similarities, differences and correlations.Methods·This is a prospective study. Maternal stool samples and vaginal swabs in late-pregnancy, and neonatal meconium samples were collected from 11 mother-infant pairs at Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from August to November 2018; the vernix caseosa from three sites (forehead, axilla, and inguinal crease) and meconium samples were collected from 14 healthy newborns at International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in December 2018. All births were vaginal deliveries. The 16S rRNA gene V3‒V4 region sequencing was used. The diversity, composition and similarities/differences of the maternal gut microbiota, the vaginal microbiota, and the neonatal meconium microbiota from the 11