Comprehensive characterization of maternal, fetal, and neonatal microbiomes supports prenatal colonization of the gastrointestinal tract

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to comprehensively characterize the microbiomes of various samples from pregnant women and their neonates, and to explore the similarities and associations between mother-neonate pairs, sample collection sites, and obstetrical factors. We collected samples from vaginal discharge and amniotic fluid in pregnant women and umbilical cord blood, gastric liquid, and meconium from neonates. We identified 19,597,239 bacterial sequences from 641 samples of 141 pregnant women and 178 neonates. By applying rigorous filtering criteria to remove contaminants, we found evidence of microbial colonization in traditionally considered sterile intrauterine environments and the fetal gastrointestinal track. The microbiome distribution was strongly grouped by sample collection site, rather than the mother-neonate pairs. The distinct bacterial composition in meconium, the first stool passed by newborns, supports that microbial colonization occurs during normal pregnancy. The microbiome in neonatal gastric liquid was similar, but not identical, to that in maternal amnionic fluid, as expected since fetuses swallow amnionic fluid in utero and their urine returns to the fluid under normal physiological conditions. Establishing a microbiome library from various samples formed only during pregnancy is crucial for understanding human development and identifying microbiome modifications in obstetrical complications.