A New Zealand clinical trial is testing whether a naturally occurring sugar found in breast milk could protect toddlers' developing gut microbiomes when antibiotics are needed.
A recent study examined Stats NZ data from 2005 - 2010, and showed 96% of Kiwi children had been given at least one dose of antibiotics by age five.
"What is tells us is that there is almost certainly a large degree of over prescribing," said Massey University Professor of Public Health Jeroen Douwes.
That can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria forming, which Douwes said over a million people die from each year.
The study aimed to establish whether giving toddlers human milk oligos alongside antibiotics would protect them from later obesity, asthma and eczema. (Source: 1News)
The study conducted by Massey and Otago University also examined a potential link to other health conditions like type 1 diabetes.
Other research has explored links to asthma, eczema and inflammatory bowel disease which can be influenced by the gut microbiome.
Babies are born without a gut microbiome and it develops over the first three years of life.
In the first trial of its kind, researchers at the Liggins Institute in Auckland were giving toddlers a complex sugar called human milk oligosaccharides, or HMOs.
The complex sugars were naturally occurring in breast milk.
Wayne Cutfield was leading the study, and said HMOs are far stronger than a probiotic.
"It's not food for the baby, but it's super food for the developing gut and it feeds the developing gut microbiome."
Over 40 Auckland families have signed up to be part of the randomised trial, and would either receive the HMOs or a placebo to take alongside any antibiotics prescribed between one to two years of age.
Auckland mother Nicole Sheary said enrolling her 18-month-old daughter Rosemary in the trial was a no-brainer.
"The benefits outweigh the risks so there's a lot of support, they're very lovely, they help you all through it," she told 1News.
Stool samples were collected to see how the gut would respond, and researchers were optimistic the trial had huge potential to reduce the risk of other health conditions.
Liggins Institute urged other whānau to sign up, with findings to be tracked over the next two years.
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