Supplementation with micro-organisms such as probiotics during pregnancy and lactation appears to reduce the risk of eczema in unborn children. This was concluded by researchers from the Imperial College of London and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and published in a study aimed at assessing the influence of diet during pregnancy and early childhood on the future development of children’s immune systems. This is a new piece of knowledge that is added to what is already known concerning an extremely delicate period of existence. In fact, giving light to a new life is always a wonderful and intense emotion, but not devoid of anxieties and fears. Parents have always been concerned about how to provide the child with the best physical conditions. Recent research underscores the importance of maternal nutrition during pregnancy and in the months following birth. The results obtained from the new research support a relationship between maternal diet and risk of immune-mediated diseases in children, this means that the mother’s dietary choice can influence the risk that the child will have to develop dermatitis and allergies.
These are conclusions drawn by analyzing large medical literature, registers, scientific sites, and other authoritative sources, published between January 1946 and December 2017. A vast amount of research, over 400, involving around 1.5 million people, including 260 original studies (964,143 participants) on milk-based nutrition, and 173 original studies (542,672 participants) on other types of food.
As many as 28 studies (6,705 participants) evaluated probiotic supplementation. These were single or multiple organisms, administered in the form of capsules, powder or part of a beverage or artificial milk for infants, at a dosage of between 1 and 10 billion units per day. Most of this research studied the action of lactobacillus, a probiotic commonly found in yogurt and other fermented foods that has a positive effect on digestion and intestinal functioning. Overall, intake during the last weeks of pregnancy and the first six months of breastfeeding reduced the risk of eczema in newborns by 22 percent.
Thanks to a meta-analysis, in particular, an association was found between this supplementation and the reduction of the onset of eczema, in children under 4 years of age and less sensitization to cow’s milk between the first and second year.
The administration of probiotics through the mother seems more effective than that given directly to the child. In addition, this nutritional solution appeared more useful than other diets used by pregnant women, such as renouncing various foods considered capable of inducing allergies in unborn children, such as nuts and eggs. In conclusion, while the infant diet can influence immune development through specific allergen mechanisms, maternal diet during prenatal life and breastfeeding may have wider effects on the developing immune system. Future efforts to promote immune health over a lifetime should consider maternal dietary interventions during pregnancy and lactation as an important area of investigation.
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