Study of Gut Microbiome and Diet Effects on Infant Gut Inflammation in Pregnant Women With and Without Inflammatory Bowel Disease

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to understand how the microbiome of pregnant women, including bacteria and fungi in the gut, vaginal canal, skin, and breastmilk, may affect inflammation in their infants intestines. The study focuses on pregnant individuals with and without inflammatory bowel disease IBD and explores how maternal gut microbiota and diet relate to infant gut inflammation, measured by fecal calprotectin FCP levels. Researchers will also investigate breastmilk components and use a machine learning model to predict infant gut inflammation based on microbiota and diet data. The study involves two groups of pregnant participants 40 with IBD Crohns disease or ulcerative colitis and 40 without IBD. Participants will provide stool samples, vaginal swabs during the third trimester, and optional breastmilk and breast skin swabs using at-home kits. They will complete 3-day diet recalls via a smartphone app at four key timepoints around week 34-35 of pregnancy, 2 weeks postpartum, 3 months postpartum, and 1 year postpartum. This allows comparison of microbiome and dietary factors during pregnancy and after birth. Participants will be followed for 12 months after birth, during which maternal and infant stool samples will be analyzed for microbiota composition and FCP levels. Dietary patterns and breastmilk components will also be monitored. Outcomes will include associations between maternal microbiome and infant inflammation, development of a prediction model for infant FCP levels, and examination of pregnancy and infant health outcomes. The study will help identify factors that could guide dietary interventions to improve infant health in families affected by IBD.

Exploring Fecal Calprotectin Levels, Maternal and Infant Microbiota, Infant Health, Nutrition, and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes With Patient With Inflammatory Bowel Disease