Nutrients · 4 authors, 2 centres
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This PRISMA-guided scoping review of 19 studies examined associations between maternal diet during pregnancy or lactation and breast milk and/or infant gut microbiomes. The review found that maternal diet can impact both the milk and infant gut microbiomes, but several studies identified factors other than maternal diet as having a greater impact on the infant microbiome.
This scoping review followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines and identified 19 studies from 808 initial abstracts that assessed associations between maternal diet and the breast milk and/or infant gut microbiome. Ten studies reported on the milk microbiome and eleven on the infant gut microbiome, with only two assessing both. The reviewed studies collectively support that maternal diet can impact the milk microbiome and the infant gut microbiome, both negatively and positively. However, several studies found factors other than maternal diet to have a greater impact on the infant microbiome. Limitations include exclusion of supplements from the diet definition, restriction to English-language publications, and a search limited to publications before 29 September 2021. The authors conclude that additional research with larger sample sizes analyzing both milk and infant stool samples is needed.
