Benefits of Probiotics During Perinatal and Infant Period for Gastrointestinal Health
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2025 | Viewed by 2237
Special Issue Editor
Interests: perinatal medicine; clinical nutrition; pediatrics; obstetrics and gynecology; neonatal microbiome sciences; neonatology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Probiotics, in particular, psychobiotics, are currently a great focus of interest but also a topic of division and scientific debate. These “pro-bios” live microorganisms are increasingly used in clinical practice, but sometimes with poor methodological knowledge. This is due to the few randomized clinical studies that use solid and standardized protocols based on the clinical picture of the patients.
The great world of probiotics and the modulation of nutrition are the two pillars in modulating what is called a “superorganism”, better known as microbiota. This large and dynamic organ is able to establish symbiotic relationships between colonies and with the host itself, determining its state of health.
In terms of prevention, the first thousand days of a newborn’s life are a window of opportunity for the modulation of its microbiota and consequently of its cognitive, social, and experiential development domains. But, to date, many questions are yet to be clarified, especially regarding the use of probiotics in premature babies. This Special Issue aims to draw attention and open the debate to questions that are still unresolved or unclear: If the first thousand days of life are essential, what can we do, even before, starting from the perinatal microbiome? Which probiotics are functional in the perinatal period and taken during breastfeeding? What impact do they have on the neurodevelopment of the unborn child and the newborn? Are probiotics effective in premature babies? Which ones? Will the effect of maternal nutrition and microbiota have an impact on the sense of taste in the newborn?
If, to date, we have focused a lot on the first 1000 days of life, I urge our colleagues to take a look a little further back, to the discovery of the placental microbiome and its regulation through maternal nutrition as it opens up new possibilities for research and development.
Dr. Valentina Biagioli
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- psychobiotic
- probiotics
- preterm birth
- perinatal nutrition
- microbiota-gut-brain axis
- human milk
- fetal programming
- neonatology
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