Maternal Fish Consumption in Pregnancy Is Associated with a Bifidobacterium-Dominant Microbiome Profile in Infants

Abstract

National guidelines suggest that pregnant women consume 2–3 servings of fish weekly and often focus exclusively on limiting mercury exposure. We examined if meeting this recommendation in the third trimester of pregnancy was associated with differences in infant fecal microbiota composition and diversity. We used multinomial regression to analyze data from 114 infant–mother dyads. Applying 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we identified 3 infant fecal microbiota profiles: Bifidobacterium dominant, Enterobacter dominant, and Escherichia dominant. We found that 20% of mothers met the recommended fish consumption, and those infants whose mothers met the recommendation were more likely to have a Bifidobacterium-dominant profile than an Escherichia-dominant profile (RR ratio: 4.61; 95% CI: 1.40, 15.15; P = 0.01). In multivariable models, the significant association persisted (P < 0.05). Our findings support the need to expand recommendations focusing on the beneficial effects of fish consumption on the infant fecal microbiota profile.