Learning Center > Tiny Tummies and DNA Discoveries: Understand more about your baby’s current & future health

Tiny Tummies and DNA Discoveries: Understand more about your baby’s current & future health

Carrie McGuckin, RNC-NIC & Director of National Sales & Clinical Education

Tags: Gut Health

As parents, ensuring the health and well-being of your little ones is a top priority. One aspect that has gained increasing attention is infant gut health. Fostering a healthy gut in infants may be more important than we first realized and understanding your infant’s genetic makeup through genomic testing can offer incredible insights for all the precious moments ahead.

The Foundation of Health: Infant Gut Health
  1. The Microbiome Marvel
    The human gut is home to a vast community of microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiome. More and more is being discovered about how this tiny ecosystem plays an important role in everything from digestion to immune system development.
  2. Early Days, Lasting Impact
    The first twelve months of a baby’s life are critical for establishing a healthy gut microbiome. By the time a child is just three years old, their microbiome has been mostly formed1. The key opportunity to make an impact on the microbiome is the first 12 months of life.
  3. Breast Milk Benefits
    Breast milk is the perfect food, and it truly is remarkable how we mammals have evolved through time, able to produce for & sustain our offspring with nutrition created by our very own bodies. Breast milk is mostly made up of water, lactose, lipids, protein, and human milk oligosaccharides, also called HMOs.
  4. Probiotics – why would a baby need them?
    University of California, Davis professors studying human milk made some incredible discoveries in the last 15 years – they saw that 9 out of 10 breastfed babies in the US were not digesting the part of breast milk called HMOs, and the HMOs were mostly pass through the gut and ending up in the diaper. But why would mom work so hard to produce HMOs to just have them pass to the stool? It turns out an important bacteria called B. infantis is the perfect pair to breast milk, but modern living practices, for example, the over-use of antibiotics, have made this good bacterium nearly extinct. B. infantis, this missing good bacteria, could be key in supporting a healthy digestive system and immune system.
  5. Evivo probiotic can help
    These UC Davis professors researched the best B. infantis bacteria strain and launched a product called Evivo infant probiotic. In the short term, parents giving Evivo to their babies reported that Evivo helped with diaper rash, colic symptoms, fussiness, and improved sleep2. Longer-term, Evivo can help set up a strong gut microbiome, which can help protect babies for all their moments ahead. Evivo can support gut and immune health, but there are many other factors to consider that can impact the microbiome and your baby’s well-being, including feeding mode (breast or formula) and your baby’s genetic make-up.

    Unlocking the Genetic Code: Genomic Testing in Infancy
  6. Genomic Testing 101
    Genetic screening, also known as DNA testing, is the most personalized precision medicine solution for your child. It can read your child’s DNA and, based on an understanding of what the genes tell us about health, can provide solutions for life.
  7. How to choose the right test?
    Genomic tests for expecting and new parents come in a few varieties, depending on what specific question parents are trying to answer. Carrier testing helps parents who are trying to conceive understand whether they are carriers of a gene variant that would place their child at risk of developing the disease. Nutrition testing helps Moms who are carrying better understand how their baby is absorbing nutrients. These are both great solutions for parents to answer a specific question. But what if parents don’t know what questions to ask? Parents can prepare for their little one’s entire health journey with a proactive genomic test. Proactive Whole Genome Sequencing creates a foundation for a little one’s health by sequencing 100% of their genome to address today’s questions and provide tomorrow’s answers. Parents who know their child’s full genome are prepared to take advantage of new discoveries in genetic health diagnosis and care strategies that may be important to their little one.
  8. Why FORESITE 360 is perfect for your baby?
    FORESITE 360 is perfect for your baby, and your family, designed to be very simple to administer and the most comprehensive genomic test possible for newborns, infants and children. FORESITE 360 is a 100% DNA (whole genome) test addressing both disease pre-disposition and medication allergies. FORESITE 360 currently looks at children’s pre-disposition to over 300 diseases and expands annually to include industry-verified gene-disease discovery. Every year, through age 18, parents receive a genetic report on their child, notifying them if any new gene-disease discoveries are important to their child’s health. FORESITE 360 is an at-home cheek swab saliva test and comes complete with all physician approvals and expert genetic counseling through virtual telemedicine. No visits, no referrals, just a simple online signup for parents to get their little one started.

Genomic testing is a tool for empowerment, providing you as a parent with the knowledge to make informed decisions for your child’s well-being and probiotics can help to ensure a solid foundation for the life ahead.

In a world where science and parenting intersect, understanding the delicate dance between nature and nurture can be empowering for all parents.

Carrie McGuckinAbout the Author: Carrie McGuckin, BSN, is a Certified Nurse for Neonatal Intensive Care & the Director of National Sales & Clinical Education for Infinant Health.  She is also a mother of three.  She became a believer in the power of probiotics, specifically B. infantis EVC001,  when she used Evivo probiotic with her own child and saw what a dramatic difference it made for him.  She was so impressed she decided to come work for us!

References:
  1. Jena et al. 2020 Front Integr Neurosci; Castellanos et al. 2021 Trends Molec Med; Arrieta 2015 Science Translational Med; Olin et al, 2018 Cell.
  2. Dimitratos, S. M., et al. “Symptomatic relief from at-home use of activated Bifidobacterium infantis EVC001 probiotic in infants: Results from a consumer survey on the effects on diaper rash, colic symptoms, and sleep.” Beneficial Microbes 12.4 (2021): 333-340.
  3. FORESITE 360, www.foresite360.com