United States: Researchers have found in mouse models that prenatal administration of the Bifidobacterium breve during pregnancy helps in the maturation of the fetal brain by altering nutrient transport and growth pathways.
About the study findings
The study’s results indicate that changing maternal gut microbiota with probiotics can be used as a non-pharmacological strategy for the healthy growth of the fetus, especially when its growth is restricted.
More studies are required on humans to explain the mentioned effects and discuss the interrelation between probiotics and other gut bacteria in pregnancy.
About the study
Recently, it has been established that maternal dietary supplementation with the bacteria Bifidobacterium breve made pregnant mice’s guts improve fetal brain and body development.
Scientists have exposed pregnant mice with Lactobacilli-negative gut to mice whose mothers were treated with Vancomycin to eliminate all their gut bacteria and given Bifidobacterium breve but nothing else.
A study in mice has found that the bacteria Bifidobacterium breve in the mother’s gut during pregnancy supports healthy brain development in the fetus, as neurosciencenews.com reported.
The findings of the study are published in the journal Molecular Metabolism.
Researchers have compared fetal brain development in mice whose mothers had no bacteria in their gut to those whose mothers were given Bifidobacterium breve orally during pregnancy but had no other bacteria in their gut.
Nutrient delivery to the brain also improved in fetuses of moms taking Bifidobacterium breve; other cell functions allied to growth also improved.
More about Bifidobacterium breve
Bifidobacterium breve is one of the acknowledged ‘good bacteria’ that are part of the normal intestinal area and may be taken as a probiotic in the form of drinks and tablets.
Being overweight or chronically stressed can also change the composition of the women’s gut bacteria and, consequently, fetal growth. Low birth weight or fetal growth restriction is present at birth in 5–10 percent of first-time mothers’ babies, as neurosciencenews.com reported.
If a baby has failed to develop appropriately inside the womb, then the chances of developing cerebral palsy in the newborn, as well as anxiety, depression, autism, and schizophrenia after birth, exist.
Based on these outcomes, pregnant women are recommended to take Bifidobacterium breve supplements in a bid to enhance fetal development with reference to fetal brain metabolism.