Neonatal microbiome - a brief review.

The long-held concept of fetus being nurtured in a sterile environment has been challenged by many recent studies that have identified bacterial communities in meconium, amniotic fluid and the placenta concluding that the microbial colonization of fetal gut begins and continues during the first 2 years of life. This microbial colonization of newborn's gut during prenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal period depends on multiple factors, e.g.