ReviewReproduction (Cambridge, England)2024
The dogma of the sterile uterus revisited: does microbial seeding occur during fetal life in humans and animals?
Review in Reproduction (Cambridge, England), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Microbiota as a Potential Cause of Disease.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Maternal Microbial Reservoirs Are Associated with Early Bacterial and Archaeal Community Assembly in Neonatal Hu Lambs.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Mother-to-offspring microbial vertical transmission: timing, determinants, and impact on offspring susceptibility to gastrointestinal diseases.Medical review (2021) · 2026Review
- Neonatal Gut Microbiota in Puppies and Kittens: From Maternal Transmission to Immune Development.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Review
- Microbial Contributions to Primate Reproduction.Evolutionary anthropology · 2026Review
- Unveiling balanced prenatal microbial colonization in amniotic fluid through an integrated culture and sequencing approach.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- The perinatal microbiota in dogs and cats: a narrative review from human research to veterinary practice.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Review
- Developmental ecology of the infant oral ecosystem: a framework for early childhood caries.Frontiers in oral health · 2026Review
- Crosstalk between the microbiome and the mucosal immunoglobulin A system in the lung, in health and disease.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Gut-placenta axis: gut microbiota metabolites may play a role in regulating maternal-fetal immune tolerance and the pathogenesis of adverse pregnancy outcomes.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- A primary study: high-throughput sequencing analysis of amniotic fluid microbiota in 50 high-risk pregnant women during the second trimester.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Implantation Failure: Where to Look Up?Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Review
- Early Roots of Childhood Obesity: Risk Factors, Mechanisms, and Prevention Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Comparison of RNA- and DNA-based 16S amplicon sequencing to find the optimal approach for the analysis of the uterine microbiome.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Temporal establishment of the colon microbiota in Angus calves from birth to post-weaning.PloS one · 2025Article
- Characterisation of the bacterial and archaeal microbiota in fresh colostrum collected from a single, spring-calving dairy herd.PloS one · 2025Article
- Feeding Expressed Breast Milk Alters the Microbial Network of Breast Milk and Increases Breast Milk Microbiome Diversity over Time.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Association ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Establishment of the uterine microbiome following artificial insemination in virgin heifers.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In brief: Opposing conclusions have been drawn regarding the presence of viable bacteria in the healthy pregnant uterus. Current evidence in humans and animals suggests that fetomaternal tissues present only traces of bacteria whose viability is still to be proven. Abstract: The debate about the pioneer colonization of the fetus is still open, being the 'in utero colonization' hypothesis versus the 'sterile womb paradigm' the two opposing sides. The seed in this field of research sprouted in human medicine in the last decade and became a central topic in other mammals as well. We aimed to review the literature on bacterial colonization of the healthy placenta, amniotic fluid, and meconium as representatives of the fetal environment. What emerges is that confirming the colonization of fetomaternal tissues by viable bacteria is challenging in humans as well as in animals. Contamination represents the major risk in this type of research as it can be related to different parts of the study design. Sampling at natural parturition or postpartum introduces risk for colonization by the vaginal microbiome of the mother or from the environment. Culture does not reveal the presence of unculturable microorganisms, and sequencing does not allow confirming bacterial viability, while also introducing the variability associated with the data analysis. Therefore, on the basis of the present review, we provide some guidelines on the best practices when performing this type of studies. What emerges from the current literature in humans and animals is that fetomaternal tissues are characterized by a very low biomass, that the viability of bacteria eventually present is still to be confirmed, while massive colonization happens at birth, priming the individual, regardless of the species.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.