ArticleNature microbiology2021
Fetal meconium does not have a detectable microbiota before birth.
Article in Nature microbiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 113 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
113 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 179 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prenatal Maternal Stress and Infant Gut Microbiome in Human and Animal Studies: A Comprehensive Systematic Review.Developmental psychobiology · 2026Pooled it
- Investigating prenatal and perinatal factors on meconium microbiota: a systematic review and cohort study.Pediatric research · 2024Pooled it
- Meconium-stained amniotic fluid.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Maternal prenatal co-exposure to air pollution and psychological distress shapes the neonatal gut: microbiota-mediated pathways to early neurodevelopment.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- Early-life microbiota in the LIMIT cohort: unveiling meconium microbiota types beyond maternal lifestyle.Gut microbes · 2026Article
- Meconium periorchitis presenting as a para-testicular mass outside of the tunica vaginalis: case report.Journal of surgical case reports · 2026Article
- PREVENT 1, a nationwide Swedish infant cohort for longitudinal gut microbiome profiling and early-life health outcomes: cohort profile.BMJ open · 2026Observational
- Short-term temporal variation in the early-life gut microbiota links maternal clinical phenotypes to neonatal jaundice.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Mother-to-offspring microbial vertical transmission: timing, determinants, and impact on offspring susceptibility to gastrointestinal diseases.Medical review (2021) · 2026Review
- Familial Mediterranean Fever and the Gut Microbiota: A Dual Perspective Review of Current Evidence.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2026Review
- Gut Microbiota in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Differences in Pathophysiology, Biomarkers, and Treatment Implications.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Immunomodulatory Role of Milk on Gut Microbiota: Implications for Enhancing Oral Vaccine Efficacy.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Review
- Unraveling the dynamic changes in the intestinal microbiome: impacts on pre-weaning calf health and productivity.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2026Review
- Pediatric and adult point of view on the gut-kidney axis in CKD.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2026Review
- The maternal and infant gut microbiome: implications for pregnancy outcomes, immune development, and health in the first 1000 days.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Longitudinal long-read microbiome profiling in a canine model reveals how age, diet, and birth mode shape gut community dynamics.mSystems · 2026Article
- Factors influencing gut microbial colonization: A host-microbe-environment interaction perspective.Current research in food science · 2026Review
- The perinatal microbiota in dogs and cats: a narrative review from human research to veterinary practice.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Review
- Maternal opioid use is associated with altered placental bacterial DNA and activation of immune-apoptotic pathways.NeuroImmune pharmacology and therapeutics · 2025Article
53 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Microbial colonization of the human intestine impacts host metabolism and immunity; however, exactly when colonization occurs is unclear. Although many studies have reported bacterial DNA in first-pass meconium samples, these samples are typically collected hours to days after birth. Here, we investigated whether bacteria could be detected in meconium before birth. Fetal meconium (n = 20) was collected by rectal swab during elective breech caesarean deliveries without labour and before antibiotics and compared to technical and procedural controls (n = 5), first-pass meconium (neonatal meconium; n = 14) and infant stool (n = 25). Unlike first-pass meconium, no microbial signal distinct from negative controls was detected in fetal meconium by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Additionally, positive aerobic (n = 10 of 20) and anaerobic (n = 12 of 20) clinical cultures of fetal meconium (13 of 20 samples positive in at least one culture) were identified as likely skin contaminants, most frequently Staphylococcus epidermidis, and not detected by sequencing in most samples (same genera detected by culture and sequencing in 2 of 13 samples with positive culture). We conclude that fetal gut colonization of healthy term infants does not occur before birth and that microbial profiles of neonatal meconium reflect populations acquired during and after birth.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.