title: Pregnancy outcome after exposure to the probiotic Lactobacillus in early pregnancy.
abstract: The present study prospectively assessed pregnancy outcome of women taking probiotics during the periconceptional period. A group of 104 women who had taken Lactobacillus in early pregnancy and 200 age- and parity-matched control pregnant women exposed to non-teratogenic agents were also recruited into the study and followed-up prospectively. Median gestational age of women exposed to Lactobacillus was 5.2 (range: 1.9-17.6) weeks. Exposure was at a mean dose of 510 mg/day for a median of 4.0 days (range: 1-90 days). In the exposed group, pregnancy outcomes included 96 live births and eight spontaneous abortions versus 187 live births and 21 spontaneous abortions in the non-exposed group. There was no statistical difference in adverse pregnancy outcomes, including the number of spontaneous abortions, pre-term births as well as a low birth weight between the two groups (p > 0.05). In the exposed group, there were two (2.1%) major congenital malformations in comparison with five (2.7%) in the comparison group (p = 0.7). In conclusion, no association was identified between ingestion of Lactobacillus in early pregnancy for a limited period of time and adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, rare pregnancy outcomes may have been missed due to the limited sample size included in the study.
authors.affiliation: The Korean Motherisk Program, Cheil Hospital and Women's Healthcare Centre, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Nava-Ocampo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koren
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007778:Lactobacillus; D050498:Live Birth / Q000453:epidemiology; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D019936:Probiotics / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method