ArticlePloS one2017
Gut microbiome of mothers delivering prematurely shows reduced diversity and lower relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 90 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between the Maternal Mediterranean Diet and Perinatal Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2024Pooled it
- Maternal gut microbiota in the postpartum Period: A Systematic review.European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology · 2023Pooled it
- The role of the oxytocinergic system in oral microbiome composition in children with autism: evidence from a randomized controlled trial of intranasal oxytocin.Translational psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Dietary fiber supplementation mitigates gestational diabetes risk and preterm birth via gut microbiota modulation: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Trial
- Gut microbiome and pregnancy complications: emerging evidence and mechanistic insights.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- The cervicovaginal gut microbiota axis as a key determinant of systemic physiology.Gut microbes · 2026Review
- Maternal and infant gut microbiome.iMeta · 2026Review
- [A prospective cohort study of gut microbiota changes in very preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2026Article
- A Review of Gut Microbiota Dynamics: From Healthy Gestation to Gestational Diabetes in Human and Mouse Models.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- The maternal and infant gut microbiome: implications for pregnancy outcomes, immune development, and health in the first 1000 days.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Association of low progesterone levels and periodontal disease with threatened preterm labor.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Review
- Dynamic Interactions between the Gut Microbiome, Health, and Metabolic Disorders in Preterm Infants.Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2025Review
- Placental endocrine function is controlled by maternal gut Bifidobacterium in germ-free mice.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Butyrate-producing bacteria in pregnancy maintenance: mitigating dysbiosis-induced preterm birth.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- The Role of the Gut Microbiota in Female Reproductive and Gynecological Health: Insights into Endometrial Signaling Pathways.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Correlations Between Gut Microbiota Composition, Medical Nutrition Therapy, and Insulin Resistance in Pregnancy-A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Article
- Dynamic changes in the pregnancy microbiome and their role in preterm birth.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Review
- Untangling Associations of Microbiomes of Pregnancy and Preterm Birth.Clinics in perinatology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePreterm birth is the main reason for neonatal deaths worldwide. We investigate whether maternal gut microbiota may play a previously overlooked role.
methodsThe Norwegian Microbiota Study (NoMIC) is a case control study on preterm birth (<259 days of gestation, calculated primarily based on the last menstrual period), including two consecutively born term infants per infant born prematurely. Eligible mothers were fluent in Norwegian and recruited from the maternity ward at a county hospital in Eastern Norway in the period 2002-2005. Fecal samples were collected at day 4 postpartum, and analyzed using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. We used samples from 121 mothers giving birth vaginally. Measures of alpha diversity (Shannon, Phylogenetic Diversity and Observed Operational Taxonomic Units) and microbiome composition were combined with information from the Medical Birth Registry, pregnancy journals, and questionnaires.
resultsThe association between maternal gut diversity and preterm delivery was examined using logistic regression. One IQR increase in Shannon diversity was significantly associated with 38% lower odds of spontaneous preterm birth, (95% confident interval (CI): 1%, 61%), and the association was stronger when adjusting for maternal age, marital status, ethnicity, parity, BMI, education, antibiotic use, pets in the household, income and smoking (48% lower odds, 95% CI: 4.2%, 72%). Mothers delivering prematurely also had lower abundance of OTUs belonging to Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus, and of the Clostridiales order.
conclusionAnalysis of maternal gut microbiota using next-generation sequencing shows that low gut diversity, with a distinct microbial composition, is associated with spontaneous preterm delivery.
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