The Use of Prebiotics from Pregnancy and Its Complications: Health for Mother and Offspring—A Narrative Review

Abstract

Pregnancy involves a metabolic reprogramming that includes changes in the gut microbiota composition in women. Evidence shows that maternal dysbiosis is linked to neonatal dysbiosis, and this factor can determine health status in adulthood. Although there is little literature available on this topic, high heterogeneity is a limitation when examining nutritional interventions. Information has been gathered to contrast the benefits of prebiotic usage, specifically in pregnancy, in its possible complications and in newborns’ gut microbiota development. The objective pursued in this brief narrative review is to provide a clear summary of relevant content when searching with regard to the use of prebiotics in pregnancy, the effects in prenatal and postnatal periods, and to help in clinical decision-making in pregnancy management and lactation. A search has found that the nutritional status of the pregnant mother is key for the earliest microbial colonization in newborns, and thus intervention programs from pregnancy could assure better outcomes in both the mother and offspring. In this sense, prebiotics (administered to mothers who breastfeed or provided in formula milk) are feasible and cost-effective elements that can prevent allergies, colic, and other maladies in newborns.

Protective effects of fecal microbiota transplantation against ischemic stroke and other neurological disorders: an update

“…However, in the absence of GM, the severity of motor impairments decreased but did not eliminate ( 72 ). In the rat PD model (wild-type Groningen rats), the treatment with dopamine agonists showed improvement in the GD with decreased abundance of pathobionts ( Lachnospiraceae and Prevotellaceae ) and increased abundance of beneficial gut flora ( Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium ) ( 73 , 74 ). Hence, the evidence of both clinical and preclinical studies has confirmed that GD plays a crucial role in PD pathology.…”

Development of the Neonatal Intestinal Barrier, Microbiome, and Susceptibility to NEC

“…Thus, a standardized, universally safe probiotic regimen is yet to be adopted for regular preventative use in the NICU. Alternatively, maternal instead of neonatal supplementation with pre- and probiotics during pregnancy is another potential route for indirectly modulating the developing baby’s microbiome [ 97 ]. Eating a fiber-rich diet has been discussed earlier as a prebiotic to promote microbial diversity in the neonate.…”

The Prebiotic Diet: Other Dietary Molecules Implicated in Gut Microbiota Health

“…This is also evident during pregnancy, where the combination of bioactive compounds and probiotics allows for, in addition to the maintenance of the maternal commensal microbiota, proper infant gut microbiota colonization. This condition, in addition to preventing the onset of obesity, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia in the pregnant woman, may prevent allergies, colic, and other maladies in newborns [4].…”

“…This is the case for urea, which can be transformed into uremic toxins by the ureases of the gut bacteria. Uremic toxins directly lead to adverse cardiac remodeling by stimulating the cardiac fibroblasts and collagen synthesis [4]. The authors pointed out that multiple approaches including the modulation of the diet, for example, diets low in red meat (i.e., those low in carnitine/choline and urea, such as the Mediterranean diet) combined with a precise modulation of the microbiota through probiotics, could, in this case, be part of personalized medicine interventions aimed at the prevention of cardiometabolic diseases [5].…”