A study has found that maternal probiotic use can have significant positive effects on an infant's cognition.
The pilot observational investigation found that infants exclusively feeding on breast milk from mothers who were taking probiotics exhibited positive differences in event-related potential (ERP).
This meant that the study subjects had a more pronounced reaction to familiar and new visual cues compared to those not receiving probiotics through maternal breast milk.
By enhancing a child's responsiveness to visual prompts, probiotics may be able to boost the memory updating potential of a child under 6 months old via a mother's breast milk, claims the primary author of this study, Sara Gonia.
The findings of this study further bolster the growing evidence into the connectivity of the gut-brain axis, and how it impacts the overall health of all age groups.
As well as exhibiting positive effects on memory, mothers could magnify the diversity of their child's gut microbiome via probiotic supplementation.
This highlights the benefits of the nutraceutical group in both mum and baby when used postnatally.
Finally, the study determined that the prevelance of bioinflammatory markers were reduced in the mother's breast milk.
The reduction in IL-6 can benefit both mother and child, as persistent inflammation can cause significant issues in the body.
Sara commented on the findings: "These results support continued research into 'Microbiota-Gut-Brain' connections during early life and the role of pre and postnatal probiotics in mothers to promote healthy microbiome-associated outcomes in infants."
