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A Stress Reduction Intervention for Lactating Mothers Alters Maternal Gut, Breast Milk, and Infant Gut Microbiomes: Data from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Yu, Jinyue; Zhang, Yan; Wells, Jonathan CK; Wei, Zhuang; Bajaj-Elliott, Mona; Nielsen, Dennis Sandris; Fewtrell, Mary S; (2024) A Stress Reduction Intervention for Lactating Mothers Alters Maternal Gut, Breast Milk, and Infant Gut Microbiomes: Data from a Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients , 16 (7) , Article 1074. 10.3390/nu16071074. Green open access

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Abstract

Background: This secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigated how the maternal gut, breast milk, and infant gut microbiomes may contribute to the effects of a relaxation intervention, which reduced maternal stress and promoted infant weight gain. Methods: An RCT was undertaken in healthy Chinese primiparous mother–infant pairs (340/7–376/7gestation weeks). Mothers were randomly allocated to either the intervention group (IG, listening to relaxation meditation) or the control group (CG). Outcomes were the differences in microbiome composition and the diversity in the maternal gut, breast milk, and infant gut at 1 (baseline) and 8 weeks (post-intervention) between IG and CG, assessed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of fecal and breastmilk samples. Results: In total, 38 mother–infant pairs were included in this analysis (IG = 19, CG = 19). The overall microbiome community structure in the maternal gut was significantly different between the IG and CG at 1 week, with the difference being more significant at 8 weeks (Bray–Curtis distance R2 = 0.04 vs. R2 = 0.13). Post-intervention, a significantly lower α-diversity was observed in IG breast milk (observed features: CG = 295 vs. IG = 255, p = 0.032); the Bifidobacterium genera presented a higher relative abundance. A significantly higher α-diversity was observed in IG infant gut (observed features: CG = 73 vs. IG = 113, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings were consistent with the hypothesis that the microbiome might mediate observed relaxation intervention effects via gut–brain axis and entero-mammary pathways; but confirmation is required.

Type: Article
Title: A Stress Reduction Intervention for Lactating Mothers Alters Maternal Gut, Breast Milk, and Infant Gut Microbiomes: Data from a Randomized Controlled Trial
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3390/nu16071074
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu16071074
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Breastfeeding; gut microbiome; maternal stress; infant weight; mother–infant signaling
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10190823
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