Preterm babies with very low birth weight who received a probiotic alongside antibiotics had fewer multidrug-resistant bacteria and a more typical gut microbiome, according to a study. 

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, is based on a trial testing probiotics among a group of 34 preterm babies born with a very low birth weight, under 1,500g, representing around 1-1.5 per cent of babies born around the world.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham in the UK sequenced gut bacteria from the babies during the first three weeks after birth.