First 1000 Days and Beyond After Birth: Gut Microbiota and Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Infants

Abstract

Preterm birth remains a major maternal and infant health issue worldwide particularly with an increase in the global preterm birth rate, which requires more interventions to manage the consequences of preterm birth. In addition to traditional complications, recent studies have shown that the succession of gut microbiota of preterm infants is disordered due to the systemic physiological immaturity, which confers negative influences on the growth, development, and health of infants. In the present study, we briefly discussed the prevalence of preterm birth worldwide and then highlighted the signatures of gut microbiota in preterm infants within the first 1000 days of life after the birth categorized into birth, infancy, and childhood. Afterward, we focused on the potential association of clinical phenotypes typically associated with preterm birth (i.e., necrotizing enterocolitis) with gut microbiota, and the potential directions for future studies in this field are finally discussed.