By Stephanie Culler, Ph.D., Co-founder and CEO of Persephone Biosciences Inc.
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If you’re a new parent, you quickly realize how much of your baby’s world revolves around their tummy.
Gas. Fussiness. Sleep. Immune health. Even mood.
Scientists now know that a big reason for this is the gut microbiome: the community of beneficial bacteria that begins forming right after birth and helps guide a baby’s immune and digestive development.
But here’s something many parents don’t realize: most babies today are missing some of the most important beneficial microbes they were meant to have.
Modern life, like overuse of antibiotics, changes in diet, and our cleaner environments, has dramatically changed the infant microbiome.
That’s why more parents are starting to think about how to support their baby’s gut health early. One option we’re excited to offer at The Pump Station is Persephone, a science-backed synbiotic designed specifically for babies.
We asked our partners at Persephone to share important information regarding exactly what makes this new product different.
First: Why Your Baby’s Gut Microbiome Matters
Before we talk about supplements, it helps to understand why the microbiome is so important in early life.
1. The gut helps train the immune system
Nearly 70% of the immune system lives in the gut. In the first few years of life, beneficial bacteria help teach the immune system what’s safe and what’s harmful.
2. Certain microbes play a special role in early life
One group of beneficial bacteria — Bifidobacterium — is especially important in infancy. These microbes help digest breast milk, support gut barrier health, and help guide immune development.
3. Many babies today are missing these microbes
Persephone’s research from the My Baby Biome study, the largest study done to map the infant gut microbiome in the US and published last summer in Communication Biology, showed 90% of babies are missing one or more key strains of Bifidobacterium. These critical microbes support gut and immune development.
4. Early gut health can influence lifelong health
A growing body of research suggests that early microbiome disruption may contribute to conditions like eczema, allergies, and asthma later in childhood.
This is why many pediatric researchers now focus on supporting the microbiome during the first few years of life, when it is developing most rapidly.
What Makes Persephone Different
Not all probiotics are designed with the infant microbiome in mind. Persephone was developed specifically for babies using new research into what today’s infants are missing.
Here are a few reasons it stands out.
Built from the largest U.S. infant microbiome study
Persephone’s formula was informed by the My Baby Biome (MBB) study, the largest and most diverse study of the U.S. infant microbiome. Researchers analyzed the microbiomes of hundreds of babies to understand what microbes healthy infants need.
Four key Bifidobacterium strains babies were meant to have
Persephone includes four carefully selected strains of Bifidobacterium chosen based on what researchers observed in healthy babies.
Precision-matched prebiotics inspired by breast milk
The formula also includes human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) — special nutrients naturally found in breast milk that nourish beneficial bacteria. These help the probiotic strains grow and thrive in the gut.
A true synbiotic designed to work together
Because Persephone combines probiotics and their preferred food source, it works as a synbiotic, helping beneficial bacteria establish themselves in the microbiome.
Strains originally isolated from babies
Rather than using older probiotic strains that have been mass-produced for decades, Persephone uses strains originally isolated from healthy infants, making them particularly suited for the developing baby gut.
Focused on restoring what modern life has disrupted
The goal isn’t simply to add bacteria — it’s to help restore the microbes babies historically received from their mothers and environment.
High standards for safety and transparency
When it comes to babies, quality matters. Persephone holds itself to rigorous standards for purity, potency, and ingredient transparency.
Clean Label Project Certified
Persephone is also Clean Label Project Certified, meaning it has been independently tested for contaminants including heavy metals, pesticides, and plasticizers.
The Bottom Line
Your baby’s microbiome plays an important role in shaping their immune and digestive health in the first years of life.
While every family’s approach to supporting gut health looks different, many parents today are exploring ways to help restore beneficial microbes early.
Persephone is one of the only products designed specifically for babies, built on new research based on the infant microbiome, clinically studied, and held to exceptionally high safety standards.
We’re excited to make it available at The Pump Station as part of our commitment to supporting families with trusted, science-backed products. Shop Persephone Now!
Stephanie Culler, Ph.D., is the co-founder and CEO of Persephone Biosciences Inc., a biotechnology company reimagining patient health through the development of microbiome-based medicines. Her microbiome interests span applications ranging from infant health to oncology and food as medicine. She has shared her work at TEDx San Diego, has been published in Science Magazine, and is a scientific pioneer in the field of synthetic biology. Stephanie holds a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology and has authored over twenty publications and patents on synthetic biology and microbial-based technologies.
