Changes in the intestinal microbiota of Japanese children during the first 3.5 years of life

We aimed to assess the relationship between gut microbiota in Japanese mothers and children. Sixty-six women from the Chiba study of Mother and Child Health (C-MACH) consented to participate in this gut microbiota study. Maternal stool samples were collected in early and late pregnancy, and samples from their children were obtained at 1 month, 4 months, 10 months, 18 months, and 3.5 years of age. C-MACH is a birth cohort study involving 434 pregnant women. Information was obtained from self-reported questionnaires and medical records, and the gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.