Impacts of probiotic supplementation on the prevention of maternal complications during pregnancy

Abstract

Complications of pregnancy are associated with adverse outcomes for mother and baby in the short and long term. The gut microbiome has been identified as a key factor for maintaining health outside of pregnancy and could contribute to pregnancy complications. In addition, the vaginal and the recently revealed placental microbiome are altered in pregnancy and may play a role in pregnancy complications. Probiotic supplementation could help to regulate the unbalanced microflora composition observed in obesity and diabetes. Here, the impact of probiotic supplementation during pregnancy and infancy is reviewed. There are indications for a protective role in preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, vaginal infections, maternal and infant weight gain and allergic diseases. Large, well-designed randomised controlled clinical trials along with metagenomic analysis are needed to establish the role of probiotics in adverse pregnancy and infancy outcomes. The aim of this study was to review the scientific literature on the impacts of probiotic supplementation on preventing pregnancy complications. The MedLine database was used as a research source. For this, the following search strategy was developed according to: Pregnancy, Probiotics, Prebiotics, Gestational Diseases, Gestational Diabetes, Gestational Supplementation. The search began in February 2020 and ended on September 18, 2020.