Increasing pregnancy duration, fetal and early postnatal growth in LMIC: The importance of a gut microbiome that exploits dietary staples.

Abstract

Globally, approximately 15 million babies are born before 37 weeks gestation annually of whom one million die in their first year of life according to the WHO. The number of preterm births, and the associated life-long consequences, disproportionally affect women and infants in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC), with the highest rates in Africa and South Asia [1]. While risk factors for preterm birth are known and include ethnicity, teenage pregnancy and advanced maternal age, smoking, and infectious disease as well inadequate nutrition and placental dysfunction [2], there are few successful intervention strategies, beyond prevention of infections, to prevent preterm birth.