Benefits of Probiotic Yogurt Consumption on Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The purported benefits of probiotics have been touted as adjunctive or alternative treatment to a variety of diseases. Limited studies have investigated the role of probiotic yogurt in the prevention and management of pregnancy-related adverse events. This literature review aims to analyze the benefits of probiotic yogurt on improving maternal health and pregnancy outcomes and to further identify possible areas of study. A detailed search was conducted utilizing the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE/PubMed database. The following search terms were queried: ("probiotic" OR "probiotics") AND ("yogurt" OR "yoghurt") AND ("pregnancy"). All articles identified by this search strategy were retrieved in their entirety, analyzed for relevance, and thoroughly reviewed for additional studies. All data were accessed in March 2020. The review process revealed 13 manuscripts that met inclusion criteria for review, the majority (n=10) of which were clinical trial reports. The manuscripts were further classified and grouped broadly by study outcomes. The consumption of probiotic yogurt was found to improve metabolic, inflammatory, and infectious outcomes of pregnancy. Studies on the consumption of probiotic yogurt appear to have many positive benefits, ranging from improving metabolism to decreasing preterm births. While its mechanism is still largely unclear, probiotic yogurt holds promise as a nutritional, global pregnancy supplement. Future research should be conducted and may consider detailed study of more fermented foods that offer categorization as a probiotic. Additional funding and research conducted in other countries may also clarify the effects of probiotic yogurt consumption on pregnancy outcomes.

Yogurt Consumption and Purchasing Reasons among Consumers in Kuching, Sarawak

“…Women were known for dominating the grocery shopping market, and is the sole meal preparer in the household (McGuirt et al, 2018). In addition, yogurt was proven to be good for women's health as it enhances body metabolism, improved infection and inflammatory outcomes of pregnancy and decreasing risk of preterm births (He et al, 2020). The findings also indicated that more than 50% of the respondents were single, consistent with studies by Högskola (2011) and Kusumastuti (2012).…”

Higher Yogurt Consumption Is Associated With Lower Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

“…It helps the body to absorb nutrients and enhance immune function by preventing inflammation and stimulating phagocytosis (30). Yogurt is one of the representatives and popular fermented foods worldwide, and consumption of yogurt has been reported to associate with a wide range of health benefits in different populations (31)(32)(33)(34)(35). The potential mechanisms are complicated, but have been identified as producing immunemodulating metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (36); preventing pathogens from entering the intestinal epithelium (37); generating antimicrobial compounds (38); producing proteolytic enzymes (39); reducing the fecal enzyme activity of azoreductase, nitroreductase, and b-glucoronidase, which convert the procarcinogens to carcinogens in the colon (40).…”

Effect of inoculation of Lactobacillus acidophilus on the level of nitrite and nitrate in yogurt containing spinach during refrigeration in 21 days

“…Some beneficial effects of probiotic consumption include improvement of digestive system health, reducing the risk of certain cancers, contributing to relief from lactose intolerance symptoms [21][22], enhancement of the immune system, synthesis and enhancement of the bioavailability of nutrients, decreasing prevalence of allergies in susceptible individuals [22], anti-diarrhea effects [21,23] and reducing serum cholesterol [21,[23][24]. In addition, the consumption of probiotic yogurt can also reduce the inflammatory, infectious, and metabolic effects of pregnancy [25]. Among the probiotic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria have been identified as the most important one [26].…”