Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Nov/Dec;42(6):310-317.
doi: 10.1097/NMC.0000000000000372.

The Maternal Gut Microbiome During Pregnancy

Sara M Edwards  1 , Solveig A Cunningham, Anne L Dunlop, Elizabeth J Corwin
Affiliations

The Maternal Gut Microbiome During Pregnancy

Sara M Edwards et al. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2017 Nov/Dec.

Abstract

The gut microbiome is a critical component of an individual's metabolism and overall health. The prenatal period is marked by unique inflammatory and immune changes that alter maternal gut function and bacterial composition as the pregnancy advances. The composition of the maternal gut microbiome contributes to obstetric outcomes with long-term health sequelae for mother and child. Estrogen and progesterone also have an impact on gut function, especially during the prenatal period. These physiologic changes in pregnancy allow for adjustments in maternal metabolism and weight necessary to support the pregnancy. Normal hormonal, metabolic, and immunologic changes to the maternal gut microbiome throughout the prenatal period are reviewed, including relevant implications for nurses providing care for pregnant women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest exist

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The bidirectional communication of the brain-gut axis occurs via systemic and neural mechanisms. It contributes to a healthy state with gut eubiosis and normal weight or a disease state with gut dysbiosis and increased risk of obesity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aitken JD, Gewirtz AT. Gut microbiota in 2012: Toward understanding and manipulating the gut microbiota. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 2013;10:72–74. doi: 10.1038/nrgastro.2012.252. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Angelakis E, Merhej V, Raoult D. Related actions of probiotics and antibiotics on gut microbiota and weight modification. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2013;13:889–899. doi: 10.1016/s1473-3099(13)70179-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Backed F, Fraser CM, Ringel Y, Sanders ME, Sartor RB, Sherman PM, Finlay BB. Defining a healthy human gut microbiome: current concepts, future directions, and clinical applications. Cell Host Microbe. 2012;12(5):611–622. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2012.10.012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bilder DA, Bakian AV, Viskochil J, Clark EA, Botts EL, Smith KR, … Coon H. Maternal prenatal weight gain and autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics. 2013;132(5):e1276–1283. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-1188. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bisanz JE, Enos MK, Mwanga JR, Changalucha J, Burton JP, Gloor GB, Reid G. Randomized open-label pilot study of the influence of probiotics and the gut microbiome on toxic metal levels in Tanzanian pregnant women and school children. mBio. 2014;5(5):e01580–01514. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01580-14. - DOI - PMC - PubMed