Probiotics Use in Mothers May Limit Eczema, Diabetes in Their Babies: Studies

Eczema
Mothers who drank milk with a probiotic supplement during and after pregnancy were able to cut the incidence of eczema in their children by almost half, a new randomized, double-blind study published in the British Journal of Dermatology has shown. Use of the probiotic milk -- which the mothers drank beginning at week 36 in their pregnancy up through to three months after birth -- reduced the incidence of eczema by 40 percent in children up to age two, the researchers found.

The study is a part of a larger research project at the university called the Prevention of Allergy Among Children in Trondheim, or PACT, an ongoing population-based intervention study in Norway focused on childhood allergy. Previous studies have shown that ingestion of some probiotics by children may prevent eczema, but this is the first study to show a preventative effect when the mother alone consumed the probiotics. To participate in the study mothers had to have planned to breastfeed their children. "We believe that probiotic bacteria affects breast milk composition in a positive way," researchers said.

Diabetes
Combining probiotics with perinatal dietary counseling could help reduce the risk of diabetes in mothers and provide a “safe and cost-effective” tool in addressing obesity in children, according to a new study from the British Journal of Nutrition. “Taken together, long-term health benefits for mothers and children may be conferred by balanced maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation and by promoting the healthy gut microbiota in the mother and the child. The results of the present study add weight to the argument that the continuing burden of Western lifestyle diseases is modifiable,” write the researchers.

The intervention group received additionally intensive dietary counseling at every study visit provided by a nutritionist, the aim being a dietary intake complying with current recommendations. The intervention group was further randomized at baseline in a double-blind manner to receive either placebo capsules or probiotics (Lactobacillus GG, and Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12). The capsules were taken once per day, and the intervention period extended from the first trimester of pregnancy to the end of exclusive breast-feeding.

All pregnancies were of normal duration, and there were no adverse events noted in mothers or in children, which confirms the safety of this approach. Researchers noted that those women who had taken probiotics had a reduced frequency of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM): 13 percent for the diet/probiotics group, compared to 36 percent for the diet/placebo group and 34 percent for the control group. In addition, the dietary counseling during pregnancy reduced the risk of fetal overgrowth, which is thought to predispose to later obesity.