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
Review
. 2020 Jan 2;12(1):133.
doi: 10.3390/nu12010133.

The Evolving Microbiome from Pregnancy to Early Infancy: A Comprehensive Review

Affiliations
Review

The Evolving Microbiome from Pregnancy to Early Infancy: A Comprehensive Review

María Dolores Mesa et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Pregnancy induces a number of immunological, hormonal, and metabolic changes that are necessary for the mother to adapt her body to this new physiological situation. The microbiome of the mother, the placenta and the fetus influence the fetus growth and undoubtedly plays a major role in the adequate development of the newborn infant. Hence, the microbiome modulates the inflammatory mechanisms related to physiological and pathological processes that are involved in the perinatal progress through different mechanisms. The present review summarizes the actual knowledge related to physiological changes in the microbiota occurring in the mother, the fetus, and the child, both during neonatal period and beyond. In addition, we approach some specific pathological situations during the perinatal periods, as well as the influence of the type of delivery and feeding.

Keywords: allergy; critical illness; fetus; infancy; microbiome; newborn; placenta; pregnancy; sepsis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Alpha-diversity changes in gut microbiota during pregnancy.

References

    1. Newbern D., Freemark M. Placental hormones and the control of maternal metabolism and fetal growth. Curr. Opin. Endocrinol. Diabetes Obes. 2011;18:409–416. doi: 10.1097/MED.0b013e32834c800d. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rodríguez J.M., Murphy K., Stanton C., Ross R.P., Kober O., Juge N., Avershina E., Rudi K., Narbad A., Jenmalm M.C., et al. The composition of the gut microbiota throughout life, with an emphasis on early life. Microb. Ecol. Health Dis. 2015;26:26050. doi: 10.3402/mehd.v26.26050. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jašarević E., Bale T.L. Prenatal and postnatal contributions of the maternal microbiome on offspring programming. Front. Neuroendocrinol. 2019;55:100797. doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.100797. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Koren O., Goodrich J.K., Cullender T.C., Spor A., Laitinen K., Bäckhed H.K., Gonzalez A., Werner J.J., Angenent L.T., Knight R., et al. Host remodeling of the gut microbiome and metabolic changes during pregnancy. Cell. 2012;150:470–480. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.07.008. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. DiGiulio D.B., Callahan B.J., McMurdie P.J., Costello E.K., Lyell D.J., Robaczewska A., Sun C.L., Goltsman D.S., Wong R.J., Shaw G., et al. Temporal and spatial variation of the human microbiota during pregnancy. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2015;112:11060–11065. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1502875112. - DOI - PMC - PubMed