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Maternal prenatal gut microbiota composition predicts child behaviour

Samantha L Dawson1, Martin O'Hely1, Felice N Jacka2

  • 1Deakin University, IMPACT - the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC, 3220, Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia.

Ebiomedicine
|June 7, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Maternal prenatal gut microbiota diversity impacts child behavior. Higher diversity in mothers is linked to fewer internalizing behaviors in children, suggesting a gut-brain connection during early development.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiome research
  • Developmental psychology
  • Human gut microbiome

Background:

  • Animal studies suggest maternal gut microbiota influences offspring brain development and behavior.
  • No human studies have previously linked maternal prenatal gut microbiota to early childhood behavioral outcomes.
  • This study investigated the relationship between maternal prenatal gut microbiota, diet, and child behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between maternal fecal microbiota composition during pregnancy and childhood behavioral outcomes.
  • To explore the role of prenatal diet as a potential mediator in this relationship.
  • To provide human evidence supporting the gut-brain axis in early development.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal cohort study included 213 mothers and 215 children.
  • Maternal fecal samples were collected in the third trimester for 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to analyze microbiota.
  • Child behavior was assessed at age two using the Childhood Behavior Checklist, with adjustments for potential confounders.

Main Results:

  • Maternal gut microbiota alpha diversity in the third trimester predicted lower internalizing behaviors in children at age two.
  • Abundance of butyrate-producing families (Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae) was higher in mothers of children with normative behavior.
  • A healthy prenatal diet indirectly correlated with reduced child internalizing behaviors through increased maternal microbiota diversity.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal prenatal gut microbiota composition is associated with offspring behavior, supporting findings from murine studies.
  • These results underscore the importance of the maternal gut microbiome in early life brain development.
  • Further research is warranted to understand the mechanisms underlying the prenatal gut microbiota's influence on child behavior.
Abstract

Keywords:
BehaviourChildrenDietGut-brain axisMicrobiotaPregnancy

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