A mother’s gut microbiome during pregnancy helps to shape a baby’s brain development, University of Cambridge research has found. It suggests probiotics could be explored to help address fetal growth restriction. Researchers compared the development of the fetal brain in mice whose mothers had no bacteria in their gut, to those whose mothers were given Bifidobacterium breve orally during pregnancy, but had no other bacteria in their gut. Nutrient transport to the brain increased in fetuses of those mothers given this ‘good bacteria’ and beneficial changes were seen in other cell processes rela…
