Maternal and neonatal microbiome around birth

The aims of this prospective longitudinal case-control pilot-study were (1) to characterize the vaginal, uterine and placental microbiome of pregnant women with an uneventful pregnancy course and a term delivery via elective caesarean section, as well as (2) to evaluate the influence of the maternal on the neonatal microbiome. The first aim was achieved by collecting vaginal and rectal swabs for microbiome analysis at inclusion, followed by vaginal, rectal, uterine and placental swabs that were collected during the caesarean section. The second aim was achieved by microbiome analysis of rectal, oral/buccal, and skin swabs taken from the newborns delivered by the study participants. Sequencing was performed at the Joint Microbiome Facility of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna under the project ID JMF-2111-02.