Ability of Bifidobacterium breve 702258 to transfer from mother to infant: the MicrobeMom randomised controlled trial

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe composition of the infant microbiome can have a variety of short- and long-term implications for health. It is unclear if maternal probiotic supplementation in pregnancy can impact infant gut microbiome.ObjectiveThe aim of our study was to investigate if maternal supplementation of a formulation of Bifidobacterium breve 702258 from early pregnancy until three months postpartum could transfer to the infant gut.Study designThis was a double-blinded placebo controlled randomised-controlled trial of B. breve 702258 (minimum 1×109colony forming units) or placebo taken orally from 16-weeks’ gestation until three-months postpartum in healthy pregnant women. The primary outcome was presence of the supplemented strain in infant stool up to 3 months of life, detected by at a least two of three methods, i.e., strain specific PCR, shotgun metagenomic sequencing, or genome sequencing of cultured B. breve. 120 individual infants’ stool samples were required for 80% power to detect a difference in strain transfer between groups. Rates of detection were compared using Fishers exact test.Results160 pregnant women with average age 33.6 (3.9) years, mean BMI of 24.3 (22.5, 26.5) kg/m2and 43% with nulliparity (n=58) were recruited from September 2016 to July 2019. Neonatal stool samples were obtained from 135 infants (65 in intervention and 70 in control). The presence of the supplemented strain was detected through at least two methods (PCR and culture) in two infants in the intervention group (n=2/65, 3.1%) and none in the control group (n=0, 0%),p= 0.230.ConclusionDirect strain transfer from mothers to infants of B. breve 772058 occurred, albeit infrequently. This study highlights potential for maternal supplementation to introduce microbial strains into the infant microbiome.Trial registration numberISRCTN53023014