Intestinal dysbiosis: an emerging cause of pregnancy complications?

The gut microbiota is intimately involved in numerous aspects of normal human physiology, including nutrition and metabolism, immunomodulation and behavior and stress response. Intestinal dysbiosis can be a contributing cause of many diseases, altering the function of both near and far organ systems. During pregnancy, the maternal body undergoes dramatic physiological changes to support the growth of fetus-placenta, while intestinal dysbiosis may directly or indirectly disturb the remodeling of physiological balance, leading to maternal maladaptation. Thus, intestinal dysbiosis, i.e., altered composition or metabolism of microbiota may adversely affect pregnancy outcome and lead to pregnancy complications via disrupting maternal adaptation. Indeed, pregnant women with potential maladaptations are at high risk of developing pregnancy disorders, which is increasingly observed in clinical cases. Here we discuss the hypothesis that intestinal dysbiosis may induce pregnancy complications via affecting maternal adaptation and the possible mechanistic pathways.