Exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy alters offspring outcomes

ABSTRACT

Introduction

The composition of microorganisms is closely related to human health. Antibiotic use during pregnancy may have adverse effects on the neonatal gut microbiome and subsequently affect infant health development, leading to childhood atopy and allergic diseases, intestinal, metabolic and brain disorders, and infection.

Areas covered

This review includes the effect of maternal antibiotic use during pregnancy on potential diseases in animals and human offspring.

Expert opinion

Exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy alters offspring outcomes. Alterations in the microbiome may potentially lower the risk of a range of problems and may also be a novel therapeutic target in children later in life.

KEYWORDS:

• Antibiotics
• gut microbiota
• pregnancy
• offspring

Article highlights

• There are vertical transfers between maternal and fetal microbes, and the second trimester may be an essential window for maternal microbes to affect the fetus.

• Antibiotic-mediated maternal and neonatal microbiota dysbiosis may increase other health risks in newborn infants.

• Prenatal antibiotic exposure increases the risk of IBD and CD.

• Changes in the maternal or fetal content in the prenatal period may influence brain health through the microbiome-gut-brain-axis.

• Improving the composition of the microbiota may reduce the incidence of diseases in the offspring caused by the use of antibiotics.

Author contributions

W Qu, L Liu, and L Miao participated in research design. L Liu, and W Qu wrote the manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81773820) and Jiangsu Provincial Medical Talent (ZDRCA2016048).