The study shows that probiotics during pregnancy could efficiently prevent gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and constipation. Such symptoms affect around 85% of pregnancies and can significantly affect the quality of life, especially in early pregnancy. Now the study authors found thatprobiotic foodsand supplementation for pregnant women could have a soothing effect.
Therapy approach with probiotics in pregnancy
Once nausea and vomiting progresses during pregnancy, they can be difficult to control. Sometimes patients even have to be hospitalized for this reason. Hormones such as estrogen and progesterone also increase during pregnancy. This leads to many physical changes and could also affect the gut microbiome. In addition, the process affects the functions of the digestive system and causes the undesirable symptoms mentioned above. The subjects took a probiotic capsule twice daily for six days and then took a break for two days before repeating the cycle. The probiotics taken during pregnancy were available over the counter and mainly contained Lactobacillus. This is a type of benign lactic acid bacteria, with each capsule containing approximately 10 billion live cultures at the time of manufacture.
The researchers found that taking the probiotic significantly reduced nausea and vomiting. Accordingly, the frequency of symptoms decreased by 16%, while the likelihood of vomiting was reduced by 33%. Probiotics also significantly improved quality of life and prevented fatigue, loss of appetite, and difficulty maintaining normal social activities. Another finding was that high levels of the gut microbes Akkermansia and A. muciniphila at the start of the study were associated with increased vomiting. The probiotic significantly reduced the amount of these specific microbes and also reduced vomiting. The probiotic also increased the absorption of vitamin E, which prevented vomiting.This studyprovides important insights into the influence of gut microbes on gastrointestinal function during pregnancy. The authors therefore plan to test whether probiotics can reduce nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy in cancer patients.
