Intake of fiber below the minimum recommendation is a risk factor for chronic constipation in children.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are multifunctional carbohydrates naturally present in human milk that act as prebiotics, prevent pathogen binding and infections, modulate the immune system and may support brain development in infants. HMOs composition is very individualized and differences in HMOs concentrations may affect the infant’s health. HMOs variability can be partially explained by the activity of Secretor (Se) and Lewis (Le) genes in the mother, but non-genetic maternal factors may also be involved. In this cross-sectional, observational study, 78 single human milk samples ranging from 17 to 76 days postpartum (median: 32 days, IQR: 25–46 days) were collected from breastfeeding Brazilian women, analyzed for 16 representative HMOs by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and associations between maternal and infant factors with HMOs concentrations were investigated. HMOs concentrations presented a high variability even in women with the same SeLe phenotype and associations with maternal allergic disease, time postpartum and with infant’s weight, weight gain and sex. Overall, we present unprecedented data on HMOs concentrations from breastfeeding Brazilian women and novel associations of maternal allergic disease and infant’s sex with HMOs concentrations. Differences in HMOs composition attributed to maternal SeLe phenotype do not impact infant growth, but higher concentrations of specific HMOs may protect against excessive weight gain.

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The fiber mixture did not prevent the suspension of stool softeners or lead to reduced CTT; however, the mixture promoted an increased frequency of defecation and an improvement in the stool consistency.

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During the cow's milk and cow s milk by-products exclusion therapy, qualitative and quantitative food intake monitoring must be carried out periodically, so as to prevent inadequacies in meeting nutritional requirements and impairment of growth and development.

Asymptomatic giardiasis did not affect the intestinal absorption of iron and the hemoglobin response to oral iron therapy in iron-deficient anemic children.

Background Exclusive breastfeeding promotes beneficial modifications on the microbiota of cesarean born infants, but little is known about the role of specific breast milk components in this modulation. Women with an active FUT2 gene (called secretors) secrete α1–2 fucosylated human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which promote Bifidobacterium in the infant’s gut and may modulate the microbiota of cesarean born infants. Objective To compare the microbiota composition of cesarean and vaginally born infants breastfed by secretor mothers. Methods Maternal secretor status was determined by the occurrence of 4 different α1–2 fucosylated HMOs in breast milk by LC-MS. The fecal microbiota composition from cesarean and vaginally born infants was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and qPCR, stratified by the maternal secretor status, and compared. Results Alpha and beta diversity were not significantly different in cesarean born, secretor-fed infants (CSe+) compared to vaginally born, secretor-fed infants (VSe+). There were no significant differences in the fecal relative abundance of Bifidobacterium between CSe+ and VSe+ infants, but the prevalence of the species B. longum was lower in CSe+. The fecal relative abundance of Bacteroides was also lower, while Akkermansia and Kluyvera were higher in CSe+ infants. Conclusion Cesarean and vaginally born infants fed with breast milk containing the α1–2 fucosylated HMOs fraction present similar amounts of Bifidobacterium in the feces, but differences are observed in other members of the microbiota.