Probiotics and Maternal Mental Health: A Randomised Controlled Trial among Pregnant Women with Obesity

Abstract

poor maternal mental health has been associated with a myriad of pregnancy and child health complications. obesity in pregnancy is known to increase one's risk of experiencing poor maternal mental health and associated physical and mental health complications. probiotics may represent a novel approach to intervene in poor mental health and obesity. We conducted this pre-specified secondary analysis of the Healthy Mums and Babies (HUMBA) randomised controlled trial to investigate whether probiotics would improve maternal mental health outcomes up to 36 weeks of pregnancy. Twohundred-and-thirty pregnant women with obesity (BMi ≥ 30.0 kg/m 2) were recruited and randomised to receive probiotic (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis BB12, minimum 6.5 × 10 9 cfU) or placebo capsules. Depression, anxiety, and functional health and well-being were assessed at baseline (12 0 −17 6 weeks' gestation) and 36 weeks of pregnancy. Depression scores remained stable and did not differ between the probiotic (M = 7.18, SD = 3.80) and placebo groups (M = 6.76, SD = 4.65) at 36 weeks (p-values > 0.05). Anxiety and physical well-being scores worsened over time irrespective of group allocation, and mental well-being scores did not differ between the two groups at 36 weeks. probiotics did not improve mental health outcomes in this multi-ethnic cohort of pregnant women with obesity.

Effectiveness of Probiotic, Prebiotic, and Synbiotic Supplementation to Improve Perinatal Mental Health in Mothers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…After removal of 1,821 duplicates, titles and abstracts of 2,047 references were screened. At this stage, 54 full-text articles were judged to be potentially relevant, of which 4 articles satisfied the review eligibility criteria (33)(34)(35)(36). Of these, one reference (35) was a multiple publication of another trial (33) and, therefore, the systematic review included 3 unique studies (33,34,36) reported in 4 publications.…”

“…The effectiveness of pregnancy use of probiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics to reduce the risk of mental health problems in the perinatal period is a relatively new area of research, with three trials published between 2016 and 2020. Studies were conducted in New Zealand (33,36) and Iran (34). Studies were funded by university (34), and research grants and industry partners (33,36).…”

“…Studies were conducted in New Zealand (33,36) and Iran (34). Studies were funded by university (34), and research grants and industry partners (33,36). One study was conducted in health care settings (34), while the other two (33,36) were conducted among pregnant women in the community.…”

“…Studies were funded by university (34), and research grants and industry partners (33,36). One study was conducted in health care settings (34), while the other two (33,36) were conducted among pregnant women in the community. Study populations in the trials were diverse and included constipated pregnant women between 24 and 28 weeks gestational age (34), healthy pregnant women between 14 and 16 weeks gestational age (36), and obese [body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m 2 ] pregnant women between 12 and 17 + 6 weeks gestational age (33).…”

The effect of probiotic supplementation during pregnancy on the interaction network of vaginal microbiome

“…The probiotic supplementation did not increase the incidence of adverse perinatal outcomes 14,17 . Although the beneficial effects of probiotics on perinatal metabolic diseases and the mental disorders have been described, 8,18–22 the efficiency on the interactions of vaginal microbiome during the pregnancy is yet lacking. The previous study did not support that taking probiotics was significantly beneficial to pregnancy 16 .…”