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To evaluate whether a fish oil and/or probiotics intervention in pregnant women with overweight or obesity would influence the tendency of their 24-month-old children to become overweight and alter their body fat percentage. Women (n = 439) were double-blindly randomized into 4 intervention groups: fish oil+placebo, probiotics+placebo, probiotics+fish oil, and placebo+placebo (fish oil: 1.9 g docosahexaenoic acid and 0.22 g eicosapentaenoic acid, probiotics: Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosusHN001 and Bifidobacterium animalisssp. lactis420, 1010colony-forming units each). The intervention lasted from early pregnancy until 6 months postpartum. Children’s (n = 330) growth data (height, weight, head circumference), a secondary outcome of the trial, were evaluated at birth, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of age and compared to Finnish growth charts. Body fat percentage was measured with air displacement plethysmography (24 months). Logistic regression and general linear models were used to analyze the data. Probiotics+placebo [weight-for-height% adj. Odds ratio (OR) = 0.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.14–0.95] and probiotics+fish oil [weight-for-age standard deviation score (SD-score) adj. OR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.07–0.71] associated with lower overweight odds in 24-month-old children compared to placebo+placebo. Results remained essentially the same, when probiotics’ main effect (combined probiotics+placebo and probiotics+fish oil) was estimated; that is, lower overweight odds (weight-for-height% adj. OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.25–0.95 and weight-for-age SD-score adj. OR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.20–0.88) compared to non-probiotics. No fish oil main effect (combined fish oil+placebo and probiotics+fish oil) was seen. The intervention did not influence body fat percentage. The administration of probiotics solely and in combination with fish oil during pregnancy to women with overweight or obesity lowered the overweight odds of their 24-month-old children.

ObjectiveGut microbiota and diet are known to contribute to human metabolism. We investigated whether the metagenomic gut microbiota composition and function changes over pregnancy are related to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and can be modified by dietary supplements, fish oil and/or probiotics.DesignThe gut microbiota of 270 overweight/obese women participating in a mother–infant clinical study were analysed with metagenomics approach in early (mean gestational weeks 13.9) and late (gestational weeks 35.2) pregnancy. GDM was diagnosed with a 2 hour 75 g oral glucose tolerance test.ResultsUnlike women with GDM, women without GDM manifested changes in relative abundance of bacterial species over the pregnancy, particularly those receiving the fish oil + probiotics combination. The specific bacterial species or function did not predict the onset of GDM nor did it differ according to GDM status, except for the higher abundance of Ruminococcus obeumin late pregnancy in the combination group in women with GDM compared with women without GDM. In the combination group, weak decreases over the pregnancy were observed in basic bacterial housekeeping functions.ConclusionsThe specific gut microbiota species do not contribute to GDM in overweight/obese women. Nevertheless, the GDM status may disturb maternal gut microbiota flexibility and thus limit the capacity of women with GDM to respond to diet, as evidenced by alterations in gut microbiota observed only in women without GDM. These findings may be important when considering the metabolic complications during pregnancy, but further studies with larger populations are called for to verify the findings.