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

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.