Early life stressors can also have an influence on the composition of the gut microbiome. That composition is affected by the mother’s diet and stress levels and by travel through the birth canal. Children who are delivered via Caesarean section show a reduced diversity of their gut microbiome. In animals, stress caused by the separation of rhesus monkeys from their mothers changed the microbiota and decreased their Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus levels. Rats separated from their mothers showed decreased fecal Lactobacillus levels.
