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NICU Baby

Infant Gut Microbiome

Hospital Babies and Evivo (activated B. infantis)

A big impact on little patients.

Safely Building a Healthy Infant Microbiome in a Hospital Environment

Feeding tolerance and competency are important milestones for the newborn infant. Maturation of the gut begins when feeding starts and evidence-based pragmatic feeding strategies in the hospital highlight the care and attention needed to feed newborns appropriately.

There are increasing studies supporting early adoption of human milk in the NICU. Human milk has many benefits for the newborn infant. However, an important question to ask is: What are you feeding in the microbiome? Appropriate bacterial colonization of the infant gut is the foundation for intestinal health and is inextricably linked to diet in the newborn infant.

The NICU and the Infant Gut Microbiome

The NICU environment poses unique challenges to the development of a healthy infant gut microbiome. Antibiotics are frequently used in the NICU, but as they eliminate both pathogenic and beneficial bacteria, they disrupt the gut microbiome. Taken together, C-sections, hospital-acquired pathogens, hygiene protocols, use of instruments such as feeding tubes, and frequent antibiotic use in the underdeveloped infant gut and the immune system puts the hospitalized infant gut microbiome at risk.1,2 Given the wide variability in function among probiotic strains, choosing a probiotic product for use in hospitalized infants calls for a documented mechanism of action and clinical benefits in an infant population. .1,2

Evivo (activated B. infantis EVC001, ActiBif®)  for Hospital Use

Evivo is a once-daily serving of Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis (B. infantis EVC001) specially formulated for use in the NICU.2 Feeding Evivo with breast milk is clinically proven to allow B. infantis to colonize the infant gut microbiome while also significantly reducing the abundance of potentially pathogenic gut bacteria.3

 

Evivo with MCT OilEvivo helps protect the hospitalized infant gut microbiome through a variety of actions derived from its ability to fully utilize human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). Evivo is clinically proven to reduce enteric inflammation, decreases intestinal permeability, and increases the production of lactate and acetate, which are known to lower colonic pH and limit the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the infant gut.2,4,5

Evivo (activated B. infantis EVC001, ActiBif®) is the only strain of B. infantis clinical demonstrated to utilize all HMOs in breast milk and significantly reduce pathogenic bacteria in the infant gut. 

Evivo is intended for use in term infants consuming human milk, including donor milk. If you have any questions about the use of the product, please contact our customer service.

The right choice for infants. 
Protect your patients with the patented power of Evivo.

References:
1. Wang Y, Hoenig JD, Malin KJ et al. 16S rRNA gene-based analysis of fecal microbiota from preterm infants with and without necrotizing enterocolitis. ISME J. 2009;3(8):944-954.
2. Underwood MA, German JB, Lebrilla CB, Mills DA. Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis: champion colonizer of the infant gut. Pediatr Res. 2015;77:229-235.
3. Underwood MA, Sohn K. The microbiota of the extremely preterm infant. Clin Perinatol. 2017;44(2):407-427.
4. Bubnov RV, Spivak MY, Lazarenko LM et al. Probiotics and immunity: provisional role for personalized diets and disease prevention. EPMA J. 2015;6:14.
5. Fukuda S, Toh H, Hase K et al. Bifidobacteria can protect from enteropathogenic infection through production of acetate. Nature. 2011; 469(7331):543-547.
6. AlFaleh K, Anabrees J. Probiotics for prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;(4):CD005496.