It is my pleasure to take part in this great event. Thank you for inviting me to share some of our work!

Thank you for your very clear explanations of the studies you noted. Do you have any insight as to whether or not the risk of GBS colonization increases as a woman gains weight throughout her pregnancy, whether a normal pregnancy weight gain or an excessive amount?

This is an excellent point Amelia, and one of my biggest concerns. Both maternal diabetes and obesity increase risk that the child will then become obese. This perpetuating cycle from generation to generation may have a major impact on reproductive health in the future.

Really nice talk Dr. Doster!

That is a great question. Ongoing work regarding the developmental origins of health suggest a link between perinatal exposures and metabolic syndrome later in life. As far as the interactions between those exposures, infection during that pregnancy or risk for future infections, i think that is an ongoing area of research. There are certainly studies that suggest that early exposures may "train" parts of the immune system which may impact risk for infections later in life.