The microbiome encompasses all the microorganisms in your body. These are little cells, mostly bacteria, that are not your own cells but live in your body.

Most of these cells live in your gut. In, fact, more than half of your poop is composed of bacteria.

Recent estimates have determined that you have more bacterial cells in your body than cells of your own.

A study estimated that a typical 155 pound person will have around 30,000,000,000,000 human cells of their own and 38,000,000,000,000 bacterial cells.

Bacteria are of course much smaller than our own cells, which is how we can fit all of these cells in gut. But, they each carry their own DNA and their own biological functions that can help, or hurt, our own bodily functions.

Effect of Microbiome on Child Development

Source: Association of the Infant Gut Microbiome With Early Childhood Neurodevelopmental Outcomes

A recent study out of Harvard found that the microbiome has a strong effect on child development. The different types of bacteria a child has in their gut correlates with how they will develop physically and behaviorally.

Kids with lots of clostridiales bacteria in their guts were shown to have approx. 1.96x the odds of delayed social skills (95%CI = 1.22-3.15).

These same kids also had 1.69x the odds of delayed communication. (95%CI = 1.06 - 2.68)

Kids with a high level of bacteroides, another type of bacteria, had 1.5x the odds of delayed fine motor skills. (95%CI = 1.07 - 2.16) These include skills such as pinching, grasping, and buttoning.