Recent Research: The composition of a pregnant mother’s gut microbiome can help predict child behaviour

Quick Summary: Recent research finds the types of microorganisms present in a pregnant mother’s gut can impact the baby’s brain development and potentially, the child’s future behaviour.

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Wow. Fascinating and important new research.

A recent study by Dawson S.L. et al., (2021) published in The Lancet shows the composition of a pregnant mother’s gut microbiome can predict a child’s future behaviour at around age 2.

The study suggests there could be a developmental window during pregnancy.

In other words, the types of microorganisms present in the pregnant mother’s gut can impact the baby’s brain development and potentially, the child’s future behaviour.

Previous animal studies had shown that the maternal gut microbiome can influence brain development and behaviour in her offspring. However, no previous human study had explored links between the mother’s gut microbiome and behavioural outcomes during early life.

This was the first study to show evidence of links between the composition of a pregnant mother’s gut microbiome and ‘internalising behaviour’ in her child.