The Probiotics Task Force is forming a new expert group to conduct a comprehensive narrative review on the maternal microbiome and its impact on pregnancy. We're seeking a diverse team of clinician-scientists with expertise in maternal health, spanning from infection, constipation, nutrient status to mental health, metabolic helath, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and preterm birth.
Background
Maternal gut, vaginal, and endometrial microbiota change significantly during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester. These changes are linked to both healthy pregnancies and pregnancy complications. Understanding these microbial shifts is crucial to potentially using probiotics to improve maternal health outcomes.
Objective
This activity aims to conduct a narrative review highlighting mother health benefits and challenges associated with changes in the maternal microbiota before and during pregnancy. It will detail the mechanistic consequences of maternal microbiota changes, and discuss early observations from probiotic clinical studies, to identify opportunities for optimized use of probiotics during pregnancy.
Open call for experts to join
The expert group is for academic experts with clinical backgrounds to join the project— notably, the obstetrician with experience in Maternal Infection, Maternal Constipation, Maternal Nutrient Status, Metabolic health / GDM, and Mental Health Preterm birth. He/She is expected to participate in monthly conference calls with the group and contribute to the literature search to write the manuscript.
Opportunities for you
Joining this activity will allow you to join an international group of experts working in different areas of probiotics, with whom you will share the authorship of an open-access peer-reviewed article at the end of the activity.
Early-career scientists are welcome to join the activity. It is a great opportunity to exchange with experts in the field, and skill development, and share authorship of a peer-reviewed publication in high-impact journals.
Interested candidates are asked to reach out to Ching-Yu Chang cchang@ilsieurope.be.
