| Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the most common metabolic complication of pregnancy.
Compared with individuals without diabetes, women with GDM, in absence of intervention, are at higher
risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. The recent and unexpected increase in the prevalence of
GDM and the average results of dietary interventions could partly be due to inattention or failure in
modifying the new composition and inappropriate intestinal micro flora which occurs often in the second
half of pregnancy particularly when accompanied by obesity. In the spectrum of lifestyle-related factors,
probiotics are proposed as part of a balanced diet, affordable, practical and potentially effective approach
to this health problem. The purpose of this narrative review paper was to review previous studies
according to the importance of probiotics and their role in prevention and treatment of GDM. Electronic
search was done in databases, including Scopus, Science direct, PubMed, Cochrane central, Google
Scholar, ISC, Magiran, IranMedex, SID, and MedLib. Evidence suggest that manipulation of microbiota
in gut during pregnancy by selected probiotics in women at risk of or affected by GDM, can probably be
of great benefit in improving the metabolic profile of mother and pregnancy results. |