Maternal Health & Nutrition

In a prospective cohort study, the associations between urinary metals in early pregnancy and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was examined among Chinese women.

This review provided a comprehensive overview of the existing evidence in nutritional and bioactive solutions for reducing the risk of preterm birth (PTB) (<37 weeks of gestation).

This summary overviewed the energy intake requirements specific to the balance between energy expenditure and energy deposition throughout different stages in pregnancy. It also discussed models to estimate energy intake requirement with accuracy, strength, and limitations.

With insulin being the only therapeutic option to manage gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), this article reviewed the existing evidence to clarify the effect of inositol- and antioxidant-based supplement administration during pregnancy affected by insulin resistance and/or diabetes.

This study was to examine the effect of probiotics on the gut microbiota and immune response. The gut microbiota varied during the third trimester of pregnancy and structure of gut microbiota remained stable after probiotic supplementation.

This article has found that physical activity in late pregnancy may have benefits for child body composition, including lower child fat mass and rate of change in fat mass. But vigorous physical activity may be necessary.

• The microbial etiology of mastitis and its effects on human milk
• The role of probiotics in the prevention of mastitis

Mastitis is a disease affecting both dairy herds and human. The article has summarized the potential role of gut microbiota and its metabolites on mastitis. Targeting gut microbiome might a fresh direction to prevent and treat mastitis.

A meta-analysis on 10 randomized controlled trials demonstrated that probiotic supplementation during pregnancy helps reduce fasting blood glucose level, serum insulin levels as well as insulin resistance.

• No consensus on the best intervention for weight management and GDM reduction during prenatal period was noted