WIKIMEDIA, WHATIGUANA
Exposure to vaginal microbiota during birth is now appreciated as a crucial step in establishing one’s own microbiome. Even before birth, however, the makeup of a new mother’s microbiome, and that of her offspring could be altered by stress, according to a mouse study published today (June 16) in Endocrinology.
“As the neonate’s gut is initially populated by the maternal vaginal microbiome, changes produced by maternal stress can alter this initial microbe population as well as determine many aspects of the host’s immune system that are also established during this early period,” study coauthor Tracy Bale, a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a statement.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania performed “stress tests” on pregnant mice using a predator’s odor, restraint, or ...
