If you are pregnant, you are likely doing all you can to have a healthy baby.  This handout will tell you about taking probiotics while you are pregnant to help prevent allergies or sensitivities in your child.

What is atopy?

Atopy (pronounced at´-eh-pee) is a condition that makes it more likely that a person will develop allergies or react to common things like pollen or food.  If a family member has atopy, a child may be more likely to have it too.  More children have been developing atopy recently.¹

What are the symptoms of atopy?

A person with atopy may develop one or more of the following:

• eczema (red, itchy skin rash that may come and go over time and can last into adulthood)
• hay fever 
• asthma
• reactions to certain foods.

What are probiotics?

Probiotics are live, helpful bacteria that are in some foods or products.  Our intestines (gut) contain trillions of bacteria.²   Many of these bacteria are helpful and protect us.  We need to keep a balance between the helpful and harmful bacteria in our bodies.  If our bodies do not have enough helpful bacteria, they will not work properly.  Harmful bacteria can then take over, leading to illness.  Taking a probiotic may help restore health. Some things that can decrease the helpful bacteria in our gut are³

• antibiotics (medicines used to treat infections)
• unhealthy food choices
• stress, both physical and emotional
• taking antacid medicines long term (proton pump inhibitors, e.g., Omeprazole or H2 blockers such as Zantac or Pepcid).

How can probiotics help prevent atopy?

Before a baby is born, her or his gut is sterile.³ Bacteria enter the baby’s gut at birth.  A baby picks up bacteria as he or she passes through the mother’s birth canal.  One study has shown that the babies of mothers who had cesarean sections (C-sections), added bacteria to their guts more slowly.⁴  The long-term effects of this may be that more calories will be absorbed, which can lead to obesity, over the child’s lifetime.⁵  Bacteria also enter the baby’s gut by breast-feeding.  There are three ways a baby might not pick up as many helpful bacteria:¹

• if a baby is born through caesarean section
• if the mother takes antibiotics around the time of the baby’s birth
• if the baby is bottle-fed, rather than breast-fed.