# Maternal overweight/obesity and yoghurt supplementation from early pregnancy to postpartum augments infant gut microbiota

## TL;DR

This study shows that giving yoghurt to overweight or obese mothers during pregnancy and postpartum can influence their infants' gut microbiota and weight.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates that yoghurt supplementation during pregnancy and postpartum can alter infant gut microbiota in overweight/obese mothers.

## Key findings

- Infants in the yoghurt group had higher weight than normal-weight infants at 42 days and 3 months.
- The yoghurt group showed higher gut microbiota diversity compared to the normal-weight group in the first 6 months.
- Yoghurt supplementation altered the relative abundance of specific gut bacteria like Akkermansia and Veillonella.

## Abstract

Maternal overweight/obesity during pregnancy heightens the risk of overweight/obesity in their offspring, and probiotic interventions during pregnancy may prevent excessive weight gain and enhance the abundance of beneficial gut microbiota. This study examined the effect of probiotic-rich yoghurt supplementation in overweight or obese women on infant weight and gut microbiota.

The intervention group (YC) comprised 90 infants born to mothers with a pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 who were provided with yoghurt from early pregnancy to 3 years postpartum. The control groups comprised 70 infants born to mothers with normal weight (NC) and 66 infants born to mothers with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 (CC).

Infant weight was significantly higher in the YC group than in the NC group at 42 days and 3 months. The Shannon index of the YC group was higher than that of the NC group at 0–6 months. Enterotype compositions in the YC and CC groups differed from those of the NC group during 0–6 months. In the NC group, the relative abundance of Akkermansia and Serratia remained stable, that of Blautia was initially stable but then increased, whereas that of Lactobacillus decreased over time. In the CC and YC groups, the abundance of these genera increased and then decreased. Infant weight and the relative abundance of Veillonella, Fusicatenibacter, and Akkermansia showed a positive correlation.

Maternal overweight/obesity affects subsequent infant weight and gut microbiota development, and maternal yoghurt intervention may alter the relative abundance of infant gut microbiota.