Maternal microbiome and the impact in pre- and post-natal life

The maternal organism, including the microbiome of the oral cavity, vaginal and intestinal microbiome, influences the risk of pregnancy outcomes related to fetal health even after birth. Recent research reveals that it is not only the vaginal cavity, blood circulation, placenta or amniotic fluid that contain bacteria. While the interaction of bacteria or their metabolites with the fetus or newborn has serious consequences by causing diseases or malformations. An alternative for women undergoing cesarean section is vaginal seeding, a practice that involves transferring vaginal fluids into the body of the newborn. The purpose is to provide beneficial maternal bacteria to babies. Moreover, factors such as probiotics, oral hygiene and nutrition have been shown to influence the microbiome. The consumption of antibiotics during the gestational stage could lead to preterm delivery due to deficiency of the maternal gut microbiome. Some hypotheses suggest alterations in neurodevelopment, for example, in thalamocortical axonogenesis, where its deficiency is related to decreased limb sensitivity. Research on the bacterial 16S rRNA sequence comparison makes it possible to establish phylogenetic relationships between prokaryotic organisms; this new identification method uses the 16S rRNA polyribonucleotide, makes it possible to distinguish individual bacteria, especially in the case of difficult ones. It consists of 3 steps: gene amplification from the sample, nucleotide sequence determination, and sequence analysis. As a result, it has been discovered that the fetus does not grow in a sterile environment.