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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Mar 12.
Published in final edited form as: Pediatr Res. 2020 Sep 12;89(2):301–306. doi: 10.1038/s41390-020-01121-x

Figure 1: Potential mechanisms for maternal diet mediated effects on the fetus affecting post-natal colonization and immunity.

Figure 1:

a) Maternal diet may modify the maternal microbiome resulting in altered exposure to live bacteria in utero and at birth via the vaginal canal or skin. b) Maternal diet may alter the microbial processing of macro- and micro-nutrients and microbial colonization resulting in differential exposure in utero to microbial products, immunoglobulins and cytokines. c) Maternal diet can modulate the amount of beneficial and harmful dietary metabolites and dietary TLR ligands which the fetus becomes exposed to in utero. d) Potential ways to maximize benefit for offspring microbiota and immune development include enhanced dietary guidelines for gravid women, probiotic supplementation and nutraceutical supplementation either pre- or post-natally.