Ailing Chen
Zouqing Luo2- 1Research Institute for Reproductive Health and Genetic Diseases, Women’s Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi, China
- 2Department of Obstetrics, Women’s Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi, China
- 3Department of Pathology, Women’s Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Wuxi, China
Background: Investigating gut microbiota during pregnancy is vital for understanding maternal–infant health, pregnancy-related disease mechanisms, and offspring development. While research in this field has grown rapidly, systematic analyses of global trends, collaborative networks, and thematic evolution remain limited. This bibliometric study maps the developmental landscape of “gut microbiota during pregnancy,” identifying research priorities and future directions.
Methods: A bibliometric analysis of pregnancy and gut microbiota studies (1991–2025) was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases. Publications were analyzed using bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace to evaluate publication trends, research contributions, collaboration networks, keyword co-occurrence patterns, and thematic evolution.
Results: The analysis encompassed 5,432 (Web of Science Core Collection) and 5,542 (Scopus) publications, with an annual growth rate exceeding 15%. Research output has grown exponentially since 2014. The China and United States were the most productive countries, with the United States demonstrating the highest total citations and a central role in global collaborative networks. Key influential institutions included the University of Turku, University College Cork, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Leading authors were Collado, Maria Carmen; Tain, You-Lin; and Cryan, John F. The research was highly interdisciplinary, spanning microbiology, nutrition, immunology, and medicine. Core journals disseminating knowledge were Nutrients, Frontiers in Microbiology, and Gut Microbes. High-impact and co-cited references established the knowledge foundation, focusing on maternal microbiome remodeling, delivery mode’s impact, and the gut-brain axis. Keyword analysis revealed a thematic evolution from initial descriptive studies of microbial composition to recent investigations into mechanisms linking microbiota to gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and neurodevelopmental outcomes via the gut-brain axis.
Conclusion: This study presents an integrative bibliometric analysis of global research on gut microbiota during pregnancy, delineating its rapid evolution and current intellectual structure. The field has matured from descriptive ecology to mechanistic and translational research, with strong international collaboration and interdisciplinary integration. The identified research fronts, including the interplay between microbial dysbiosis and specific pregnancy complications, as well as the influence of the maternal gut microbiome on offspring neurodevelopment, represent promising avenues for future investigation.
1 Introduction
Pregnancy is a distinct phase in a woman’s life characterized by dynamic physiological and metabolic adaptations (Gangakhedkar and Kulkarni, 2021). During this phase, the maternal body undergoes extensive immune, hormonal, and metabolic transformations to maintain pregnancy and ensure the fetus develops optimally (Miko et al., 2022). In recent years, advances in microbiome research technologies, particularly the widespread adoption of high-throughput sequencing and integrated multi-omics analytical approaches (Liu et al., 2024; Tang et al., 2024), have positioned the gut microbiota as a focal point of interdisciplinary research bridging life sciences and clinical medicine. Its critical role in pregnancy-related health and disease has garnered increasing attention.
Substantial evidence demonstrates that the structural composition, diversity, and functional dynamics of the maternal gut microbiota evolve significantly throughout gestation (Di Simone et al., 2020; Liu X. et al., 2022; Liu Z. et al., 2022). These shifts are intricately linked to key physiological processes, including immune modulation at the maternal-fetal interface (Adamczak et al., 2024; Faas and Smink, 2025), nutrient metabolism and energy homeostasis (Fu et al., 2024). Notably, gut microbiota dysbiosis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various pregnancy complications, such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) (Gupta et al., 2024; Li H. et al., 2024; Li Y. et al., 2024; Li J. et al., 2024; Li S. et al., 2024; Sohrabi et al., 2025; Wang et al., 2018), preeclampsia (Jin et al., 2022; Tang et al., 2022; Wang W. et al., 2020; Wang J. et al., 2020), and preterm birth (Kim and Youn, 2024; Uchida et al., 2025). Furthermore, maternal gut microbiota influences offspring health through vertical transmission and microbial metabolites, profoundly shaping the maturation of the infant’s immune system (Cheng et al., 2021; Thompson et al., 2022) metabolic programming (Thompson et al., 2022; Xue et al., 2022), and neurocognitive developmental trajectories (Di Gesu et al., 2022; Liu et al., 2025; Zhao et al., 2021). These findings underscore its pivotal role in determining long-term offspring health outcomes.
As research on gut microbiota during pregnancy intensifies, global scientific output has surged exponentially. Investigations have expanded from foundational descriptions of microbial composition to mechanistic explorations, clinical translation, and the development of targeted intervention strategies, reflecting broad recognition of this field’s academic and clinical significance. However, the sheer volume of literature presents challenges for researchers. Conventional review methodologies, constrained by subjectivity, limited scope, and inadequate capacity to process large-scale data, struggle to comprehensively map the field’s intrinsic developmental patterns. Bibliometrics, an interdisciplinary framework integrating mathematics, statistics, and computational science, enables quantitative and visual analysis of scholarly data to delineate domain-specific productivity, collaboration networks, knowledge foundations, and thematic evolution (Lazarides et al., 2025). By identifying high-impact contributors, mapping global collaborations, and detecting emerging trends, bibliometric analysis provides an evidence-driven foundation for optimizing research priorities and fostering innovation.
Although prior studies have examined bibliometric features of gut microbiota in specific diseases or life stages, no systematic investigation has yet elucidated the knowledge architecture and developmental trajectory of “gut microbiota during pregnancy” as a cross-disciplinary domain. This study addresses this gap by employing multidimensional bibliometric techniques. By applying bibliometric techniques and leveraging the bibliometrix software package, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer visualization tools, it conducts a systematic analysis of the literature related to the intestinal microbiota during pregnancy, which is indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and Scopus databases from 1991 to 2025. WoSCC and Scopus are globally recognized as high-quality academic databases, with all included literature undergoing rigorous peer review and screening processes. Empirical research by Zhu and Liu (2020) demonstrates that both databases exhibit high usage frequencies in academic publications, reflecting their practical utility as research tools. Furthermore, a longitudinal comparison reveals that while each database demonstrates distinct advantages in disciplinary coverage, both adequately fulfill the requirements for bibliometric analysis (Harzing and Alakangas, 2016). Our analysis encompasses: (1) temporal trends in annual publication output; (2) distributions of productivity and influence across countries/regions, institutions, and authors; (3) topology of collaborative networks; (4) interdisciplinary convergence patterns; and (5) thematic evolution revealed through keyword co-occurrence networks, burst term detection, and temporal mapping of research frontiers. By elucidating the developmental landscape of this field, our findings offer actionable insights for researchers to navigate evolving hotspots, identify emerging opportunities, and guide clinical practice, thereby contributing to the optimization of scientific and translational priorities.
2 Methods
2.1 Data collection and retrieval strategy
To ensure comprehensive coverage and data accessibility, a systematic literature search was conducted on September 10, 2025, in the WoSCC and Scopus databases. The specific search strategy is illustrated in Figure 1. The search query for WoSCC was constructed using the “Topic” (TS) field, which includes title, abstract, author keywords, and Keywords Plus: TS = ((“pregnan*” OR “gestation*” OR “maternal”) and (“gut microflora” OR “gut microorganism” OR “gut microbi*” OR “gut flora” OR “gut dysbiosis” OR “intestinal microflora” OR “intestinal microorganism” OR “intestinal microbi*” OR”intestinal flora” OR “intestinal dysbiosis” OR “gastrointestinal microb*”)).
Figure 1. Data retrieval and analysis process.
For Scopus, the search was built using the “TITLE-ABS-KEY” (title, abstract, keywords) field: TITLE-ABS-KEY = (“pregnan*” OR “gestation*” OR “maternal”) AND (“gut microflora” OR “gut microorganism” OR “gut microbi*” OR “gut flora” OR “gut dysbiosis” OR “intestinal microflora” OR “intestinal microorganism” OR “intestinal microbi*” OR”intestinal flora” OR “intestinal dysbiosis” OR “gastrointestinal microb*”).
The literature types were limited to “Articles” and “Review Articles” published between 1991 and 2025, with no language restrictions. During the data screening process, 5,432 and 5,542 topic-relevant records were identified from WoSCC and Scopus, respectively. The following data were extracted and exported separately from each database for independent analysis: publication year, authors, subject categories, affiliations, journal names, countries/regions, keywords, and references. Additionally, 3,837 overlapping publications were identified between the two databases.
2.2 Data analysis
Bibliometric analysis was performed using the bibliometrix package (version 5.1.1) within the R programming environment (version 4.5.1), supplemented by VOSviewer (v1.6.19) and CiteSpace (v6.2. R3). Initial analyses utilized the built-in database statistics and the bibliometrix package to examine publication distributions, countries/regions collaborations, authors, and the top 10 highly cited and co-cited references. VOSviewer was further employed to extract and visualize institutional and keyword clustering networks. CiteSpace was used to perform country co-occurrence analysis, reference co-citation clustering analysis, and to generate a keyword timeline map. Additionally, a burst detection analysis was conducted for the top 30 keywords with the strongest citation bursts.
3 Results
3.1 Annual global publication outputs on “gut microbiota during pregnancy”
Analysis of the WoSCC and Scopus databases identified 5,432 and 5,542 publications, respectively (Figures 2A,C). There were 3,837 overlapping publications between the two databases. Figures 2B,D illustrate the annual publication trends, which show a high degree of consistency between the two databases, with annual growth rates of 15.97 and 15.52%, respectively. During the early stage (1991–2006), the annual publication count was generally below 20, and annual citations were fewer than 300. A phase of steady development occurred between 2007 and 2013, with a gradual increase in annual publications. Exponential growth has been observed since 2014, with both databases recording over 700 publications in 2024, reflecting the sustained high impact and growing academic interest in maternal and infant health research.
Figure 2. Publication metrics and temporal trends. (A) Bibliometric overview from WoSCC database; (B) annual publication distribution in WoSCC database; (C) bibliometric overview from Scopus database; (D) annual publication distribution in Scopus database.
3.2 Distribution and co-authorship of countries/regions
From 1991 to 2025, research on “gut microbiota during pregnancy” has garnered widespread global attention. In the WoSCC database (Table 1), China took the lead, with 1,561 publications (accounting for 21.67%), a total of 33,826 citations (average of 21.67 citations per article), an H-index of 80, a total link strength of 443 in the VOSviewer collaboration strength analysis, and a betweenness centrality of 0.06 in the CiteSpace collaboration network analysis (Figure 3A). The United States ranked second, with 1,511 publications (accounting for 27.82%), a total of 96,109 citations (average of 63.61 per article), an H-index of 144, a total link strength of 1,018, and a betweenness centrality of 0.3 in the CiteSpace collaboration network analysis, highlighting its advantages in the quality of basic research. Canada ranked third with 342 publications (6.3%), a total of 22,126 citations (average of 64.7 per article), an H-index of 75, a total link strength of 352, and a betweenness centrality of 0.14, indicating its role as a bridge in high-quality research and regional collaboration. England (total link strength 511, betweenness centrality 0.18) and France (betweenness centrality 0.2) emerged as key nodes in global scientific collaboration due to their high collaboration strength.
Table 1. Top 10 most productive countries/regions in “gut microbiota during pregnancy” research.
Figure 3. International collaboration patterns. (A) Countries/regions network from WoSCC database; (B) Countries/regions network from Scopus database.
In the Scopus database (Table 1), China surpassed the United States with 1,729 publications (31.20%) compared to 1,436 (25.91%), a total of 36,944 citations (average of 21.37 per article), an H-index of 90, a total link strength of 428, and a betweenness centrality of 0.12 (Figure 3B), reflecting its leading output volume and high activity in open-access journals. The United States maintained a total of 101,868 citations (average of 70.94 per article), an H-index of 149, a total link strength of 996, and a betweenness centrality of 0.5, underscoring its leading position in high-quality research and collaborative networks. The United Kingdom (total link strength 469, betweenness centrality 0.17) and Germany (betweenness centrality 0.16) served as core nodal countries in Scopus due to their strong interdisciplinary collaboration.
Both WoSCC and Scopus identified the United States, China, and Canada as the top three most productive countries. The United States consistently ranked in the top two across both databases, demonstrating stable research quality and collaboration. China led in output volume in Scopus but still requires improvement in average citations and H-index. Canada ranked in the top three in both databases, reflecting its sustained research investment.
3.3 Distribution of research institutions and authors
3.3.1 Institutional distribution
The distribution of institutions and the cooperation network were analyzed using VOSviewer. As shown in Table 2, in the WoSCC database, the University of Turku ranked first with 100 publications (1.84%), a total of 10,515 citations (average of 105.15 per article), and a total link strength of 115. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (86 publications, 2,316 total citations) and University College Cork (86 publications, 6,623 total citations) tied for second place. The University of Colorado ranked fourth with 82 publications and an average of 114.02 citations per article, reflecting its high per-article quality. The University of Toronto (78 publications, total link strength 161) stood out for its extensive international collaboration network.
Table 2. Top 10 most productive institutions in “gut microbiota during pregnancy” research.
In the Scopus database, APC Microbiome Ireland led with 105 publications (1.89%), a total of 10,593 citations (average of 100.89 per article), and a total link strength of 173. University College Cork (79 publications, average of 101.19 citations per article) ranked third. Turun Yliopisto (69 publications) ranked fourth, with a notably high average of 137.33 citations per article. A cross-database comparison revealed that University College Cork ranked among the top three in both databases. Overall, the field has formed a collaborative research landscape centered on institutions in North America, Europe, and East Asia, with broad participation from multiple regions.
As shown in Figure 4A, the top publishing institutions in the WoSCC database were grouped into seven distinct clusters. The red cluster primarily consisted of institutions from the United States, Denmark, and Sweden, including the University of Colorado, the University of Copenhagen, and Harvard Medical School. The green cluster was mainly composed of institutions from China and Ireland, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, University College Cork, China Agricultural University, and Zhejiang University. The yellow cluster included Australian institutions like the University of Melbourne and the University of Western Australia. The purple cluster comprised Canadian institutions, including the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta. The blue cluster consisted mainly of institutions from Finland, the Netherlands, and Spain, such as the University of Turku, the University of Helsinki, and Turku University Hospital. The light blue cluster was represented by Chang Gung University, and the orange cluster by Bar-Ilan University.
Figure 4. Institutional collaboration networks. (A) WoSCC database; (B) Scopus database.
Based on the Scopus database (Figure 4B), the institutional collaboration network was divided into six clusters. The red cluster exhibited multinational collaboration, including institutions from the United States (e.g., Harvard Medical School; Karolinska Institutet), Sweden, Finland, Spain, and Israel (Bar-Ilan University). The green cluster was concentrated in Chinese institutions, including China Agricultural University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Sichuan Agricultural University. The blue cluster was dominated by Canadian institutions, such as the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and the University of Alberta. The yellow cluster integrated Australian (University of Melbourne, Monash University) and Danish (Københavns Universitet; Det Sundhedsvidenskabelige Fakultet) institutions. The light blue cluster was centered in Ireland, including APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, and Moorepark Food Research Centre. The purple cluster was represented by Chang Gung University College of Medicine.
3.3.2 Author distribution
Analysis of author distribution using the bibliometrix package in R revealed that in the WoSCC database, the most prolific author was Collado, Maria Carmen from the Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos, with 75 publications (1.38% of total publications), followed by Tain, You-Lin from Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital with 61 publications (1.12%), and Chien-Ning Hsu from Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital with 53 publications (0.98%) (Table 3). Among the top 10 most productive authors, the highest average citations were achieved by Dinan, Timothy G. and Cryan, John F. The H-index, a comprehensive metric evaluating the quantity and impact of scholarly output, was highest for Collado, Maria Carmen and Cryan, John F.
Table 3. Top 10 most productive authors in “gut microbiota during pregnancy” research.
Results from the Scopus database showed partial overlap with WoSCC but with some differences: Tain, You-Lin (58 publications, 1,505 total citations) and Collado, Maria Carmen (53 publications, 5,355 total citations) remained the top two, but Cryan, John F. dropped to ninth place (26 publications, 3,698 total citations), reflecting differences in database coverage. Notably, Ross Paul from Université Paris Saclay (30 publications, 2,959 total citations) and Nitert, Marloes Dekker from the University of Queensland (25 publications, 1,880 total citations) appeared in the top 10 only in Scopus, highlighting the database’s broader coverage of European and Australasian institutions.
A cross-database comparison showed that authors such as Collado, Maria Carmen; Tain, You-Lin; Isolauri, Erika; and Stanton, Catherine consistently ranked in the top 10 across both databases, confirming the stability and international influence of their research output. At the institutional level, the University of Turku, University College Cork, and Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital formed multi-institutional high-productivity clusters. High H-index and average citation values (e.g., Cryan, John F.) further validated the central role of prolific authors in advancing the field. These findings provide data support for identifying key scholars and optimizing international collaboration networks, while also highlighting the need to consider database differences when assessing author influence.
Further analysis of the annual publication output of authors aimed to explore changes in research productivity over time and identify authors who were particularly active during specific periods. Results from the WoSCC (Figure 5A) and Scopus (Figure 5B) databases showed that Isolauri, Erika; Salminen, Seppo; Kozyrskyj, Anita L.; and Collado, Maria Carmen have consistently published research in the “gut microbiota during pregnancy” field over the past three decades, demonstrating their long-standing research foundation and sustained interest. In contrast, Tain, You-Lin; Hsu, Chien-Ning; and Hou, Chih-Yao have significantly increased their research activity in recent years, suggesting important advancements in specific research directions.
Figure 5. Temporal publication patterns of leading authors: (A) WoSCC database; (B) Scopus database.
3.4 Discipline and journal distribution
3.4.1 Disciplines
In terms of disciplinary publication, as shown in Table 4, based on the WoSCC database, Microbiology (16.99%) was the most concentrated discipline, aligning with the field’s focus on microbiota composition, function, and dynamics. Nutrition (13.44%) and Immunology (9.19%) ranked second and third, respectively, reflecting the emphasis on dietary interventions, metabolic regulation, and maternal–infant immune adaptation. Notably, Multidisciplinary Sciences (6.44%) appeared in the top 10, confirming the trend toward interdisciplinary integration. In the Scopus database, Medicine (58.88%) dominated, followed by Immunology and Microbiology (23.57%) and Biochemistry, Genetics, and Molecular Biology (22.45%).
Table 4. Top 10 disciplinary categories in the field of “gut microbiota during pregnancy” research.
3.4.2 Journal distribution
Analysis of journal sources using the bibliometrix package in R revealed a concentration of research output in this field. As shown in Table 5, the top 10 journals in the WoSCC database contributed over 20% of the publications, forming a core journal group that dominates knowledge dissemination. Nutrients led with 244 publications (4.49%), highlighting the key role of nutrition journals in this interdisciplinary field. Frontiers in Microbiology (164 publications, 3.02%) and Scientific Reports (135 publications, 2.49%) ranked second and third, respectively. Notably, Plos One, although ranking fourth with 105 publications (1.93%), showed strong impact with 6,417 total citations and an average of 61.11 citations per article. Microbiome, despite having fewer publications (69, 1.27%), had a high average of 89.78 citations per article and the highest journal impact factor (12.7), indicating broad academic recognition of its published research.
Table 5. Top 10 journals publishing “gut microbiota during pregnancy” research.
Results from the Scopus database were highly consistent with WoSCC. The top 10 journals were distributed in JCR Q1/Q2 quartiles, covering microbiology, nutrition, immunology, and multidisciplinary sciences, fully affirming the interdisciplinary nature of research on gut microbiota during pregnancy.
3.4.3 Top 10 highly cited references and co-cited references
In-depth analysis of cited references and co-cited references was conducted using the bibliometrix package in R. The top 10 highly cited articles in the “gut microbiota during pregnancy” field showed consistency between the WoSCC (Figure 6A) and Scopus (Figure 6B) databases. Five articles appeared in the top 10 of both databases (Table 6), forming the knowledge foundation of the field. These included: Hsiao et al. (2013) on microbiota modulation of neurodevelopmental abnormalities; Rinninella et al. (2019) reviewing the definition of a healthy gut microbiota; Penders et al. (2006) exploring factors influencing infant gut microbiota; Koren et al. (2012) on host-microbiome interactions during pregnancy; and Braniste et al. (2014) demonstrating microbiota influence on blood–brain barrier permeability. The shared highly cited articles focused on early-life microbiota colonization, the gut-brain axis, and host-microbiome interactions during pregnancy, highlighting the foundational importance of these directions.
Figure 6. Citation analysis of core reference. (A) Top 10 most cited references in WoSCC; (B) Top 10 most cited references in Scopus; (C) Co-citation reference clusters in WoSCC.
Table 6. Top 10 most cited references in “gut microbiota during pregnancy” research.
Analysis of highly co-cited references revealed the core knowledge base and key methodological frameworks in the field. The top 10 most frequently co-cited references are listed in Table 7. Four foundational studies appeared prominently in both databases: (1) Koren et al. (2012) on host and microbiome remodeling during pregnancy, ranked first in WoSCC, establishing pregnancy as a key driver of microbial succession; (2) Dominguez-Bello et al. (2010) on the impact of delivery mode on neonatal microbiota colonization; (3) Backhed et al. (2015) on the longitudinal dynamics and stabilization of the infant gut microbiome in the first year of life; and (4) Aagaard et al. (2014) proposing the concept of a placental microbiome, which, despite controversy, demonstrated significant influence through its co-citation strength. Additionally, two key methodological papers were included: Caporaso et al. (2010) on the QIIME pipeline and Callahan et al. (2016) on the DADA2 analysis pipeline, highlighting the indispensable role of high-throughput sequencing data analysis methods. Yatsunenko et al. (2012) on human gut microbiome variations across age and geography was also co-cited, providing an important comparative framework for subsequent research.
Table 7. Top 10 most co-cited references in “gut microbiota during pregnancy” research.
To further analyze co-citation relationships, we performed a visualization analysis of co-cited references in the WoSCC database using CiteSpace (Figure 6C). CiteSpace parameters were set as follows: time slicing (1991–2025), years per slice (1), node type (keyword), selection criteria (g-index, k = 25), no pruning. Eight major clusters were identified: Birth mode, dietary counseling, GDM, preterm birth, postnatal environment, gut-brain axis, neurodevelopmental disorder, and human milk.
3.5 Keyword analysis
Keyword analysis to elucidate the knowledge structure and research hotspots in this field, we employed VOSviewer to perform a co-occurrence network analysis of literature keywords. To ensure clustering accuracy and representativeness, we excluded core search terms and their synonyms, while merging synonymous terms in the database. This step effectively mitigated clustering distortion and centralization bias caused by terminological diversity. In the co-occurrence network, line thickness visually represents the frequency of keyword co-occurrence in the same literature, with thicker lines indicating higher co-occurrence rates.
Results from the WoSCC database (Figure 7A) reveal that “Obesity” (607 occurrences) is the most frequent keyword, underscoring its central role in current research. “Risk” (572 occurrences) and “Probiotic” (555 occurrences) rank second and third. The co-occurrence network is clearly divided into four main clusters, each representing a distinct and concentrated research direction.
Figure 7. Keyword analysis. Keyword co-occurrence networks in WoSCC database (A) and Scopus database (B); keyword burst detection in WoSCC database (C) and Scopus database (D).
The green cluster centers on “Obesity” and focuses on the pathophysiological mechanisms of obesity and metabolic syndrome. It traces a research trajectory from phenotypic markers (e.g., “Overweight,” “Body-Mass Index,” “Gestational Diabetes Mellitus,” “Preeclampsia,” “Hypertension”) to molecular mechanisms, emphasizing inflammation (“Inflammation,” “Oxidative Stress,” “Activation”) and metabolic regulation (“Metabolism,” “Insulin-Resistance,” “Glucose”). Studies investigate how dietary factors (“Diet,” “High-Fat Diet,” “Dietary Fiber”) influence gut microbiota metabolites (“Short-Chain Fatty Acids,” “Butyrate,” “Metabolites”), triggering host epigenetic changes (“Epigenetics,” “DNA Methylation”) and gene expression alterations (“Gene-Expression,” “Expression”), ultimately impacting maternal-fetal health (“Maternal Obesity,” “Maternal Diet,” “Offspring,” “Placenta”). This cluster integrates multi-level evidence from animal models (“Mice,” “Cells”) to human studies, unraveling the complex network of obesity-related metabolic diseases.
The blue cluster, led by “Risk” and “Probiotic,” addresses early-life microbiota interventions and their long-term health outcomes, particularly allergic and immune diseases. This direction is characterized by clinical intervention and epidemiological features, as evidenced by keywords like “Double-Blind,” “Supplementation,” “Meta-analysis,” and “Prevalence.” Research focuses on early-life interventions (“Early-Life,” “1st Year,” “Children”) using probiotics (“Probiotic,” “Lactobacillus”), prebiotics (“Prebiotics”), or avoiding disruptors like antibiotics (“Antibiotics”) and cesarean section (CS) (“Cesarean-Section”) to modulate the immune system (“Regulatory T-Cells”) and prevent diseases such as “Asthma,” “Allergy,” “Atopic-Dermatitis,” “Eczema,” “Food Allergy,” and “Inflammatory-Bowel-Disease.”
The red cluster revolves around “Health,” “Infant,” and “Breast-Milk,” emphasizing the establishment and transmission of maternal–infant microbiota and its impact on infant health. Research threads begin with delivery and feeding modes (“Delivery,” “Mode,” “Breastfeeding,” “Lactation”), exploring their effects on neonatal gut microbiota colonization (“Colonization”) and diversity (“Diversity”). Studies link early microbiota establishment to infant growth (“Growth,” “Birth-Weight”), immune responses (“Immune,” “Responses”), and disease risks (“Necrotizing Enterocolitis,” “Infection”). A highlight is the in-depth investigation of breast milk components (“Breast-Milk,” “Milk,” “Oligosaccharides,” “Human-Milk Oligosaccharides”), revealing mechanisms by which breast milk shapes neonatal gut microbiota (“Bifidobacteria”) to promote health. Keywords like “Sequences” and “Identification” reflect heavy reliance on high-throughput sequencing technologies.
The smaller yellow cluster, centered on “Dysbiosis” and “Brain,” represents the rapidly growing “gut-brain axis” field. It explores links between gut microbiota and central nervous system function, as well as psychiatric and behavioral disorders. Research spans clinical conditions (“Autism,” “Depression,” “Anxiety,” “Irritable-Bowel-Syndrome”) and animal models (“Model,” “Maternal Separation,” “Maternal Immune Activation,” “Prenatal Stress”). Keywords like “Stress,” “Behavior,” and “Neurodevelopment” highlight the focus: early-life (including prenatal) stress and immune activation induce dysbiosis, impacting brain development and behavior, potentially leading to neuropsychiatric disorders.
To validate and comprehensively examine the knowledge structure of the research field, this study further conducted a keyword co-occurrence analysis on the literature in the Scopus database. As shown in Figure 7B, its network structure shares commonalities with that of the WoSCC database while also exhibiting unique emphases.
In the Scopus database, “Controlled Study” (2,116 occurrences) emerged as the most frequently mentioned keyword. It was followed by “Animal” (1,944 occurrences) and “Infant” (1,778 occurrences). Through cluster analysis, the keywords were divided into three clusters.
The red cluster, the largest and most content-rich, was dominated by “Controlled Study” and “Animal,” clearly pointing to mechanism-based explorations through animal experiments. This direction delved into the role of “Dysbiosis” under specific pathophysiological conditions, with core models including “Obesity,” “Gestational Diabetes Mellitus,” and “Inflammation.” Research utilized interventions such as “Probiotic Agent,” “Prebiotic Agent,” “Diet Supplementation,” “Fecal Microbiota Transplantation,” and “High-Fat Diet” to observe their effects on the “Metabolism” and “Immunity” of “Progeny” or adult individuals. Mechanistic studies extended to the molecular level, employing techniques like “Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction,” “Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay,” and “Metabolomics” to investigate changes in “Gene Expression,” “Protein Expression,” “Signal Transduction,” and “Metabolites” such as “Short Chain Fatty Acid,” as well as the roles of key inflammatory factors like “Interleukin 6” and “Tumor Necrosis Factor.” This cluster systematically revealed how interventions from “Prenatal Exposure” to the “Perinatal Period” influence host pathophysiology through molecular pathways.
The green cluster, centered around “Infant,” “Newborn,” and “Adult,” primarily represented population-based clinical and translational medical research. Its research focus centered on the early life stages, encompassing the growth and development process from “Prematurity” and “Birth Weight” to “Child” (“Growth, Development and Aging”). Classic clinical research methods such as “Cohort Analysis,” “Prospective Study,” and “Randomized Controlled Trial” were employed to explore key exposure factors affecting infant health, including “Cesarean Section,” “Vaginal Delivery,” “Breast Feeding,” and the use of “Antibiotic Agent.” Health outcomes were closely tied to specific clinical issues like “Necrotizing Enterocolitis” and “Body Mass,” with microbiome analysis conducted through “Feces” samples. This cluster overall embodied a longitudinal observational research paradigm from “Mother” to “Progeny.”
The blue cluster featured distinct methodological characteristics, with “RNA 16S” (16S rRNA gene sequencing) and “Metagenomics” at its core. This cluster encompassed the key technical processes of gut microbiome research, from “Dna Extraction” to “Polymerase Chain Reaction,” then to “High Throughput Sequencing” and “RNA Sequencing,” culminating in “Population Abundance” analysis and “Classification.” Correspondingly, the keywords in this cluster also listed in detail the core gut microbial phyla and genera identified through these methods, such as “Bacteroides,” “Bifidobacterium,” “Lactobacillus,” “Firmicutes,” and “Proteobacteria.” This cluster essentially served as the technical and analytical foundation supporting the entire research field, providing data sources and research tools for the other two clusters.
To identify research hotspots with high burst strength and distinct temporal characteristics in the “gut microbiota during pregnancy” field, this study detected the top 30 keywords with the strongest citation bursts in the WoSCC and Scopus databases using CiteSpace (Figures 7C,D) and generated a timeline view of the field over the past 35 years (Figures 8A,B) to reveal thematic evolution and development dynamics. CiteSpace parameters were set as follows: time slicing (1991–2025), years per slice (1), node type (keyword), selection criteria (g-index, k = 25), no pruning.
Figure 8. Timeline view of keywords. (A) WoSCC database; (B) Scopus database.
The two databases revealed differentiated characteristics of the research frontiers. The WoSCC database timeline viewer showed the top five clusters as insulin resistance, gut-brain axis, allergy, vaginal microbiome, and necrotizing enterocolitis (Figure 8A). Keywords clearly displayed a three-stage evolutionary path from descriptive research to mechanistic and systemic studies (Figure 7C): the early stage (before 2010) was dominated by terms such as “intestinal microflora,” “flora,” and “atopic disease,” reflecting the initial focus on microbial composition and its association with allergic diseases. Between 2010 and 2018, keywords such as “irritable bowel syndrome,” and “anxiety like behavior” indicated a shift toward mechanistic exploration, particularly focusing on the gut-brain axis and immune regulation mechanisms. Recently (2023–2025), the emergence of “cesarean born infants” and “preeclampsia” showed an extension of research to delivery modes and associations with pregnancy complications.
In contrast, the Scopus database exhibited a more detailed cluster structure (Figure 8B), with the top seven clusters being feces; infant; animal experiment; blood glucose; adaptive immunity; brain; pregnane x receptor. The burst word list in Scopus included more general medical or methodological keywords (Figure 7D), such as “article,” “priority journal” and “drug effects,” which had high burst strength but weaker direct research relevance. Nevertheless, Scopus also captured biologically significant keywords with strong bursts, such as “bacterial colonization,” “probiotics,” and “gastrointestinal tract.” Notably, “gestational diabetes” and “Shannon index” showed high burst strength between 2023 and 2025, indicating current research frontiers focused on the association between gestational diabetes and microbiota, as well as quantitative analysis of microbial diversity.
In summary, both databases indicate that the field has moved beyond mere description of microbiota composition toward exploring underlying mechanisms and multi-omics integration. Mechanistic research on pregnancy complications, especially GDM and preeclampsia, constitutes the current clinical frontier. The microbiota-gut-brain axis and its impact on maternal and infant neuropsychiatric health (e.g., anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorder) form another key direction of shared interest.
4 Discussion
This study provides a systematic bibliometric analysis of the global research landscape concerning the gut microbiota during pregnancy, utilizing a dual-database approach incorporating the WoSCC and Scopus. The primary methodological contribution of this study is the comparative analysis enabled by this dual-strategy. Recognizing that different bibliographic databases have distinct coverage policies and inherent biases, the use of both WoSCC and Scopus was intended to mitigate the risk of a skewed or incomplete representation of the field. WoSCC is often recognized for its selective journal inclusion, particularly of high-impact English-language publications, which can lend a certain prestige to its indexed content. In contrast, Scopus offers broader coverage, including a more extensive array of journals from regions like Europe and the Asia-Pacific. This difference was observable in our results; for instance, China’s publication output appeared more prominent in Scopus, while the United States maintained a leadership position in citation-based impact metrics within WoSCC. Therefore, this approach allows for a more comprehensive and balanced mapping of the academic terrain than would be feasible with a single database, constructing a more robust and three-dimensional global perspective on the field’s development.
The analysis reveals that research on the gut microbiota during pregnancy has experienced a phase of exponential growth since approximately 2014, with annual publication output showing a consistent upward trajectory. This trend reflects a widespread and deepening academic recognition of the critical role played by maternal microbial communities in shaping both immediate and long-term maternal and infant health outcomes, solidifying this area as a globally significant frontier in biomedical science. The rapid maturation of this field is intrinsically linked to the deep integration of multidisciplinary methodologies. Advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies, the refinement of metagenomic analysis pipelines (Asnicar et al., 2017; Liu et al., 2023; Vaishampayan et al., 2010; van de Wijgert et al., 2020), and the widespread application of sophisticated bioinformatics tools (Caporaso et al., 2010; Callahan et al., 2016) have been fundamental drivers, a fact corroborated by both keyword burst analysis and the content of highly co-cited references. Concurrently, the cross-disciplinary fusion of insights from nutrition, immunology, microbiology, and neuroscience has progressively shifted the research perspective from initial descriptions of microbial composition toward a more mechanistic exploration of microbiota-host interactions, metabolic pathway regulation, and ultimate clinical translation. The significant representation of microbiology, nutrition, and immunology in the disciplinary distribution, alongside the prominent role of comprehensive journals (e.g., PLOS ONE, Scientific Reports) and high-impact specialized journals (e.g., Microbiome, Gut Microbes) as primary publication venues, collectively confirms the highly interdisciplinary nature of this scientific endeavor.
4.1 Synthesis of research hotspots and evolving themes
A synthesis of the bibliometric data, including keyword co-occurrence, citation analysis, and the review of seminal publications, allows for the identification of several dominant and interconnected research hotspots that define the current intellectual structure of the field.
4.1.1 Maternal metabolic health and gestational complications
A primary research cluster focuses on the intricate interplay between the maternal gut microbiome and metabolic health during gestation, particularly in the context of specific pregnancy complications. Core themes within this cluster include obesity, GDM, insulin resistance, and preeclampsia. Research has consistently demonstrated that maternal pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity and excessive gestational weight gain are associated with a state of microbial dysbiosis, characterized by reduced microbial diversity, an elevated Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, and taxonomic shifts such as a decreased abundance of beneficial Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia alongside an increase in pro-inflammatory microbes (Houttu et al., 2018; Zacarias et al., 2018). In GDM, this dysbiosis is often more pronounced, synergistically exacerbating metabolic dysfunction and systemic inflammation (Li J. et al., 2024; Mei et al., 2025). The investigation into underlying mechanisms is heavily centered on host-microbiota crosstalk, with a strong emphasis on microbial metabolites and metabolomics. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) have emerged as central regulators. For instance, in high-fat-diet-induced GDM models, reduced SCFA production has been shown to activate intestinal CD36-mediated lipid absorption via the HDAC3-H3K27ac-PPARγ axis, thereby promoting systemic insulin resistance (Chen et al., 2024). Human studies corroborate these findings, showing that women with GDM exhibit decreased circulating levels of acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which correlate with altered expression of SCFA receptors (GPR41/43) and metabolic markers in placental tissue (Wang et al., 2022), affirming SCFAs as pivotal modulators of the gut-islet axis in pregnancy. Nutrition is recognized as a key modulator linking the microbiota to these metabolic outcomes. Different dietary patterns elicit divergent microbial metabolic functions; for example, high-complex-carbohydrate diets can increase the abundance of beneficial bacteria and enhance carbohydrate metabolism, whereas regular or high-fat diets may activate pro-inflammatory pathways (Sugino et al., 2024). This research, while focused on maternal health, is ultimately directed toward understanding how optimizing the gestational metabolic environment can confer long-term health benefits to the offspring.
4.1.2 Early-life microbial colonization and determinants
A second major research axis is dedicated to understanding the origins, colonization, and establishment of the gut microbiota in early life and its profound implications for infant health and development. This cluster emphasizes the neonatal period as a critical window for microbial acquisition and assembly. Two major determinants are extensively studied: delivery mode and feeding practices. CS delivery consistently demonstrates profound effects on neonatal microbiota acquisition compared to vaginal delivery. Infants born via CS exhibit reduced microbial diversity, depletion of beneficial genera such as Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides, and an enrichment of potential pathogens (Kim et al., 2020; Madan et al., 2016; Reznik et al., 2024). These compositional alterations coincide with functional shifts in intestinal metabolism, including modified bile acid oxidation and disrupted carbohydrate and amino acid pathways (Hoen et al., 2021; Wang W. et al., 2020), suggesting a mechanistic link between CS-associated dysbiosis and long-term health risks. The second key factor is feeding mode, with breast milk being regarded not only as a nutritional source but also as a complex vehicle for bioactive molecules and microorganisms crucial for driving microbiota maturation (Chen et al., 2019; Merter and Altay, 2024), immune development (Li Y. et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2024; Zhou et al., 2020), and growth (Ajeeb et al., 2024; Rendina et al., 2019). Even minimal formula supplementation can shift the infant microbiota toward a profile more typical of formula-fed infants, attenuating the protective effects of exclusive breastfeeding (Madan et al., 2016). A significant sub-theme within this cluster concerns the vulnerable population of preterm infants, where aberrant microbial colonization is strongly associated with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Pre-NEC microbial signatures feature increased Proteobacteria (especially Gammaproteobacteria and Enterobacteriaceae) and decreased beneficial taxa (Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus) (Chae et al., 2024; He et al., 2021; Heida et al., 2016; Lindberg et al., 2020). These patterns are detectable in meconium, highlighting the predictive value of very early colonization (Chae et al., 2024; Heida et al., 2016; Kang et al., 2022). Concomitant metabolic alterations include reduced SCFA (especially butyrate) production (He et al., 2021; Liu X. et al., 2022; Liu Z. et al., 2022) and accumulation of amino acid metabolites and TCA intermediates (e.g., succinate and L-malate) (Chapman et al., 2024; Du et al., 2023). Butyrate deficiency impairs regulatory T-cell induction, disrupting immune homeostasis and exacerbating inflammation (He et al., 2021).
4.1.3 The microbiota-gut-brain axis in the perinatal period
A rapidly expanding area of investigation explores the mechanisms underlying the microbiota-gut-brain axis, particularly during pregnancy and early life. This research posits that microbial disturbances can induce low-grade inflammation and alter immune cell activity, thereby affecting neural circuit development and contributing to behavioral phenotypes such as anxiety, depression, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For example, in prenatal depression, reduced Intestinibacter and Escherichia_Shigella correlate with elevated IL-1β and IL-17A, implying immune mediated neural effects (Fang et al., 2023; Yang et al., 2022). Prenatal stress (Gur et al., 2017) and high fat diet (Bruce-Keller et al., 2017) induce offspring anxiety and cognitive dysfunction via maternal microbiota alterations. Maternal anxiety (Chi et al., 2024) and alcohol exposure (Wong et al., 2025) reduce microbial diversity and beneficial Bifidobacterium, potentially affecting neurodevelopment through IL-6/IL-10 pathways (Galley et al., 2023). Prenatal exposure to valproic acid, LPS, or herbicides induces maternal and offspring dysbiosis alongside ASD-like behaviors, often with sex specific effects (Li H. et al., 2024; Li Y. et al., 2024; Li J. et al., 2024; Li S. et al., 2024; Salia et al., 2025), likely mediated through hormone-immune-microbiome interactions. The vertical transmission of maternal microbiota is a key mechanism, as evidenced by studies showing that infants of mothers with postpartum depression exhibit distinct microbial profiles and poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes (Zhou et al., 2024). Intervention studies, including fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), have been used to directly demonstrate the microbial contribution to brain development and behavior. Maternal FMT in CS born infants safely restores vaginal delivery like microbiota (Korpela et al., 2020), while FMT from ASD children to mice recapitulates behavioral and neuroinflammatory phenotypes (Avolio et al., 2022). FMT also enhances gut barrier function (e.g., upregulating ZO-1, Occludin) (Zhou et al., 2021) and reduces systemic and neuroinflammation-e.g., by inhibiting LPS-TLR4/NF-κB in arsenic exposure models (Zhao et al., 2023). For instance, in an arsenic exposure model, maternal FMT alleviated offspring neuroinflammation and behavioral deficits by inhibiting the LPS-TLR4/NF-κB pathway (Zhao et al., 2023). The role of microbial metabolites, particularly SCFAs like butyrate, is underscored as a critical signaling pathway facilitating gut-brain communication, immune regulation, and energy metabolism (Chen et al., 2025; Cheng et al., 2019). This cluster represents a paradigm shift toward understanding how the maternal microbial status serves as a modifiable factor in offspring neurodevelopmental programming.
4.1.4 Microecological interventions and translational applications
A highly translational research cluster emphasizes microecological interventions, such as probiotics and prebiotics, for preventing early-life allergic and immune diseases. This area is characterized by a focus on interventional studies, including randomized controlled trials. Evidence suggests that specific probiotic strains can significantly reduce the incidence of NEC in preterm infants (Alfaleh et al., 2010; Chang et al., 2017; Yang et al., 2014) and lower the risk of infant eczema and atopic sensitization when administered to high-risk pregnant women (Barthow et al., 2016). The mechanisms are thought to involve competitive exclusion of pathogens, immune modulation (e.g., restoring Th1/Th2 balance), and enhancement of gut barrier function. Maternal dietary interventions, such as fermentable fiber intake, have also been shown to enrich SCFA-producing bacteria in the offspring and upregulate SCFA receptors (GPR41/43), thereby suppressing allergic airway inflammation (Thorburn et al., 2015; Yuan et al., 2023). This body of work spans a continuous intervention window from pregnancy through early childhood, embodying a preventive medicine approach aimed at shaping the early-life microbiota to reduce long-term disease susceptibility.
4.2 Analysis of intellectual foundation and temporal evolution
Analysis of the highly cited and co-cited literature provides insight into the intellectual foundation of the field. Seminal works, such as Koren et al.’s (2012) study demonstrating trimester-specific microbial changes (Koren et al., 2012), and research by Dominguez-Bello et al. (2010) and Backhed et al. (2015) on how delivery mode and feeding practices shape neonatal colonization, form cornerstone references. The frequent co-citation of methodological papers introducing tools like QIIME (Caporaso et al., 2010) and DADA2 (Callahan et al., 2016) underscores the indispensable role of bioinformatic advancements in propelling the field forward. The temporal evolution of research hotspots, as revealed by keyword burst analysis, indicates a clear trajectory. Early research (pre-2010) primarily focused on exploring associations between microbial composition and allergic diseases. As the field matured, themes expanded toward mechanistic investigations of the gut-brain axis, metabolic syndromes, and immune regulation. In recent years, the research frontier has sharpened its focus on specific pregnancy complications (e.g., GDM, preeclampsia), the detailed impact of delivery modes, and the rigorous evaluation of probiotic, prebiotic, and dietary intervention strategies. This evolution signifies a collective shift from initial correlational observations toward a deeper exploration of causal mechanisms and clinical translation.
4.3 Global collaboration and key contributors
Research in this field is characterized by robust international collaboration. The China, United States, and Canada lead in terms of publication volume. The United States’ leadership in metrics such as total citations, H-index, and betweenness centrality demonstrates its substantial research accumulation, high-quality output, and central role in coordinating international collaborative networks. While China leads in publication count, its relatively lower average citation rates suggests a future focus on enhancing the international impact of its research output. European nations and Canada also play key hub roles in international collaboration, as evidenced by their advantages in betweenness centrality. Institutional collaboration clustering reveals that the field has formed several efficient collaborative networks centered around regions or research themes, such as North American, European, and Asia-Pacific clusters. This structured collaborative model facilitates resource integration and accelerates knowledge innovation.
A relatively stable and highly productive community of authors has emerged, with several research teams establishing distinctive and influential lines of inquiry. The work of these teams often aligns with and has helped define the major research clusters identified above.
For instance, the team associated with Collado, Maria Carmen; Isolauri, Erika; and Salminen, Seppo has systematically investigated the multifaceted impacts of gut microbiota during pregnancy on maternal and offspring health. Their research has elucidated mechanisms spanning microbial vertical transmission, metabolic-immune regulation, and nutritional interventions. They have confirmed that microbial communities from the maternal gut and breast milk are directly transferred to the newborn, a process influenced by delivery mode and feeding type (Flores Ventura et al., 2025; Saez-Fuertes et al., 2024a; Saez-Fuertes et al., 2024c). Their work has also linked maternal metabolic states, such as overweight/obesity, to gut dysbiosis and systemic inflammation (Zacarias et al., 2018), and explored the potential of probiotic (e.g., Bifidobacterium breve M-16V) and synbiotic supplementation (e.g., scGOS/lcFOS) to enhance maternal gut barrier integrity, immune status, and offspring health outcomes (Saez-Fuertes et al., 2024b; Saez-Fuertes et al., 2024c).
The collaborative work of Cryan, John F. and Dinan, Timothy G. has been pivotal in advancing the microbiota-gut-brain axis within the perinatal context. Their research investigates how early-life environmental factors (e.g., stress, antibiotic exposure, diet) affect neurodevelopment via the gut microbiota (Nuzum et al., 2024). Using animal models, they have demonstrated that maternal separation stress induces sex-specific changes in microbiota and leads to long-term visceral hypersensitivity and affective disorders (Wilmes et al., 2024). They have also shown that maternal high-fat diet impacts offspring brain development through microbial-metabolite pathways, such as the kynurenine pathway (Ratsika et al., 2024). Their interventional studies provide experimental support for nutritional and microbial strategies to ameliorate early-life stress-induced behavioral abnormalities (Donoso et al., 2020; McVey Neufeld et al., 2019; O'Mahony et al., 2020; Pusceddu et al., 2015).
Another illustrative example is the team led by Tain, You-Lin; Hsu, Chien-Ning; and Hou, Chih-Yao, which has expounded on how maternal factors (e.g., sweetener intake, chronic kidney disease, high-fat diets) can program offspring hypertension through mechanisms involving oxidative stress, aberrant renin-angiotensin system activity, and gut dysbiosis (Tain et al., 2024a,b; Tain et al., 2024d; Tain and Hsu, 2025). Their research demonstrates the potential of interventions like resveratrol butyrate esters (Tain et al., 2024d), chondroitin sulfate (Tain et al., 2024c), and specific probiotics to reshape microbial structure and prevent hypertensive programming in offspring through pathways involving hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide signaling (Tain et al., 2023a, 2023b; Tain et al., 2024a,b,c,d).
4.4 Strengths, limitations, and future directions
The main methodological contribution of this study is its comparative analysis using both the WoSCC and Scopus databases, which provides valuable insights for bibliometric research practices. The high consistency in annual publication trends between the two databases validates the objective trajectory of the field’s rapid development. However, discrepancies in rankings at the countries/regions, institution, and author levels reflect the different inclusion policies and biases of each database, as previously discussed. Therefore, utilizing both databases allows for a more comprehensive and equitable academic landscape.
Despite these insights, this study has several limitations. Firstly, it primarily focused on journal articles and reviews, excluding conference proceedings, book chapters, or preprints, which might omit some emerging perspectives or data. Secondly, although no formal language restriction was applied, the inherent predominance of English literature in both WoSCC and Scopus means that significant contributions from non-English-speaking regions may not be fully captured, potentially introducing a linguistic and geographical bias. Furthermore, bibliometrics is inherently a quantitative science; it can reveal macro-trends and structural patterns but cannot replace in-depth qualitative assessment of specific research findings or judgments on scientific rigor and validity.
Based on the synthesized research landscape, future directions are likely to focus on several key areas. First, there will be a continued push toward utilizing integrated multi-omics analyses (metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics) to move beyond correlation and deeply elucidate the specific molecular pathways through which the gut microbiota influences pregnancy outcomes and offspring health. Second, promoting large-scale, well-designed randomized controlled trials based on existing mechanistic evidence will be crucial to verifying the efficacy and safety of probiotics, prebiotics, or dietary interventions in preventing pregnancy complications and improving long-term offspring health. Third, investigating microbiota characteristics across diverse geographical, ethnic, and socioeconomic populations is essential to ensure that findings are globally applicable and to promote health equity. Finally, exploring the use of microbiota-derived signatures as biomarkers for the early diagnosis and risk prediction of pregnancy complications represents a promising avenue for developing personalized microecological modulation strategies.
The future prospects of maternal and infant microbiome research are profoundly significant. This field holds the potential to fundamentally reshape preventive medicine in the perinatal period. By elucidating the critical role of microbial ecosystems in programming health and disease, it paves the way for novel, non-invasive strategies to improve pregnancy outcomes, optimize infant development, and reduce the long-term burden of non-communicable diseases across the lifespan. As research transitions from observation to intervention, the focus will increasingly be on translating this knowledge into actionable clinical guidelines and public health initiatives that support the microbial health of mothers and their children from pregnancy through the first critical years of life.
5 Conclusion
This study demonstrates that database selection significantly influences research assessment outcomes, underscoring the necessity of cross-database analysis for comprehensive evaluation. Through bibliometric analysis of the “gut microbiota during pregnancy” field, we identified its evolution from descriptive studies to mechanistic investigations and clinical applications. Current research focuses on microbial structure, disease mechanisms affecting maternal–infant health, and clinical implications, particularly regarding allergic and metabolic disorders. The mother-infant microbial transmission and gut-brain axis regulation have emerged as crucial areas, highlighting microbiome-host interactions in lifelong health. Emerging frontiers include pregnancy complications (e.g., GDM, preeclampsia), delivery mode impacts, and probiotic/prebiotic interventions. These advancements deepen our understanding of microbial functions during gestation and provide a theoretical foundation for precision nutrition and early-life interventions.
Data availability statement
All bibliometric data analyzed in this study are publicly available from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases. Processed datasets generated for analysis are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
Author contributions
AC: Data curation, Writing – original draft, Funding acquisition, Software. ZL: Software, Writing – original draft, Methodology. JZ: Writing – review & editing, Data curation, Supervision, Investigation.
Funding
The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Top Talent Support Program for young and middle-aged people of Wuxi Health Committee (No. BJ2023076) and the Wuxi Municipal Science and Technology Bureau (No. Y20242109).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Generative AI statement
The authors declare that Gen AI was used in the creation of this manuscript. Solely as an auxiliary tool to enhance linguistic quality and formatting efficiency, with no substitution of human judgment in critical tasks such as data analysis, interpretation, or conclusion drafting.
Any alternative text (alt text) provided alongside figures in this article has been generated by Frontiers with the support of artificial intelligence and reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, including review by the authors wherever possible. If you identify any issues, please contact us.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Abbreviations
ASD, autism spectrum disorder; CS, cesarean section; FMT, fecal microbiota transplantation; GDM, gestational diabetes mellitus; SCFAs, short-chain fatty acids; WoSCC, Web of Science Core Collection.
References
Aagaard, K., Ma, J., Antony, K. M., Ganu, R., Petrosino, J., and Versalovic, J. (2014). The placenta harbors a unique microbiome. Sci. Transl. Med. 6:237ra65. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3008599,
Adamczak, A. M., Werblinska, A., Jamka, M., and Walkowiak, J. (2024). Maternal-foetal/infant interactions-gut microbiota and immune health. Biomedicine 12:490. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12030490,
Ajeeb, T. T., Gonzalez, E., Solomons, N. W., Vossenaar, M., and Koski, K. G. (2024). Human milk microbiome: associations with maternal diet and infant growth. Front. Nutr. 11:1341777. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1341777,
Alfaleh, K., Anabrees, J., and Bassler, D. (2010). Probiotics reduce the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants: a meta-analysis. Neonatology 97, 93–99. doi: 10.1159/000235684,
Asnicar, F., Manara, S., Zolfo, M., Truong, D. T., Scholz, M., Armanini, F., et al. (2017). Studying vertical microbiome transmission from mothers to infants by strain-level metagenomic profiling. Msystems 2:e00164-16. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00164-16,
Avolio, E., Olivito, I., Rosina, E., Romano, L., Angelone, T., De Bartolo, A., et al. (2022). Modifications of behavior and inflammation in mice following transplant with fecal microbiota from children with autism. Neuroscience 498, 174–189. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.06.038,
Backhed, F., Roswall, J., Peng, Y., Feng, Q., Jia, H., Kovatcheva-Datchary, P., et al. (2015). Dynamics and stabilization of the human gut microbiome during the first year of life. Cell Host Microbe 17:852. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2015.05.012,
Barthow, C., Wickens, K., Stanley, T., Mitchell, E. A., Maude, R., Abels, P., et al. (2016). The probiotics in pregnancy study (pip study): rationale and design of a double-blind randomised controlled trial to improve maternal health during pregnancy and prevent infant eczema and allergy. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 16:133. doi: 10.1186/s12884-016-0923-y,
Braniste, V., Al-Asmakh, M., Kowal, C., Anuar, F., Abbaspour, A., Toth, M., et al. (2014). The gut microbiota influences blood-brain barrier permeability in mice. Sci. Transl. Med. 6:263ra158. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3009759,
Bruce-Keller, A. J., Fernandez-Kim, S., Townsend, R. L., Kruger, C., Carmouche, R., Newman, S., et al. (2017). Maternal obese-type gut microbiota differentially impact cognition, anxiety and compulsive behavior in male and female offspring in mice. PLoS One 12:e175577. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175577
Callahan, B. J., McMurdie, P. J., Rosen, M. J., Han, A. W., Johnson, A. J. A., and Holmes, S. P. (2016). Dada2: high-resolution sample inference from illumina amplicon data. Nat. Methods 13, 581–583. doi: 10.1038/nmeth.3869,
Caporaso, J. G., Kuczynski, J., Stombaugh, J., Bittinger, K., Bushman, F. D., Costello, E. K., et al. (2010). Qiime allows analysis of high-throughput community sequencing data. Nat. Methods 7, 335–336. doi: 10.1038/nmeth.f.303,
Chae, H., Kim, S. Y., Kang, H. M., Im, S., and Youn, Y. (2024). Dysbiosis of the initial stool microbiota increases the risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis or feeding intolerance in newborns. Sci. Rep. 14:24416. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-75157-y,
Chang, H., Chen, J., Chang, J., Lin, H., Lin, C., and Peng, C. (2017). Multiple strains probiotics appear to be the most effective probiotics in the prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis and mortality: an updated meta-analysis. PLoS One 12:e171579. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171579,
Chapman, J. A., Wroot, E., Brown, T., Beck, L. C., Embleton, N. D., Berrington, J. E., et al. (2024). Characterising the metabolic functionality of the preterm neonatal gut microbiome prior to the onset of necrotising enterocolitis: a pilot study. BMC Microbiol. 24:533. doi: 10.1186/s12866-024-03701-x,
Chen, M., Pan, J., Song, Y., Liu, S., Sun, P., and Zheng, X. (2025). Effect of inulin supplementation in maternal fecal microbiota transplantation on the early growth of chicks. Microbiome 13:98. doi: 10.1186/s40168-025-02084-z,
Chen, H., Wang, S., Li, H., Zhou, X., Zhou, L., Chen, C., et al. (2024). The attenuation of gut microbiota-derived short-chain fatty acids elevates lipid transportation through suppression of the intestinal hdac3-h3k27ac-ppar-gamma axis in gestational diabetes mellitus. J. Nutr. Biochem. 133:109708. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2024.109708
Chen, C., Yin, Q., Wu, H., Cheng, L., Kwon, J., Jin, J., et al. (2019). Different effects of premature infant formula and breast milk on intestinal microecological development in premature infants. Front. Microbiol. 10:3020. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.03020,
Cheng, R., Guo, J., Zhang, Y., Cheng, G., Qian, W., Wan, C., et al. (2021). Impacts of ceftriaxone exposure during pregnancy on maternal gut and placental microbiota and its influence on maternal and offspring immunity in mice. Exp. Anim. 70, 203–217. doi: 10.1538/expanim.20-0114,
Cheng, C. S., Wei, H. K., Wang, P., Yu, H. C., Zhang, X. M., Jiang, S. W., et al. (2019). Early intervention with faecal microbiota transplantation: an effective means to improve growth performance and the intestinal development of suckling piglets. Animal 13, 533–541. doi: 10.1017/S1751731118001611,
Chi, R., Li, M., Zhang, M., Zhang, N., Zhang, G., Cui, L., et al. (2024). Exploring the association between anxiety, depression, and gut microbiota during pregnancy: findings from a pregnancy cohort study in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China. Nutrients 16:1460. doi: 10.3390/nu16101460,
Di Gesu, C. M., Matz, L. M., Bolding, I. J., Fultz, R., Hoffman, K. L., Gammazza, A. M., et al. (2022). Maternal gut microbiota mediate intergenerational effects of high-fat diet on descendant social behavior. Cell Rep. 41:111461. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111461,
Di Simone, N., Santamaria Ortiz, A., Specchia, M., Tersigni, C., Villa, P., Gasbarrini, A., et al. (2020). Recent insights on the maternal microbiota: impact on pregnancy outcomes. Front. Immunol. 11:528202. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.528202,
Dominguez-Bello, M. G., Costello, E. K., Contreras, M., Magris, M., Hidalgo, G., Fierer, N., et al. (2010). Delivery mode shapes the acquisition and structure of the initial microbiota across multiple body habitats in newborns. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 107, 11971–11975. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1002601107,
Donoso, F., Egerton, S., Bastiaanssen, T. F. S., Fitzgerald, P., Gite, S., Fouhy, F., et al. (2020). Polyphenols selectively reverse early-life stress-induced behavioural, neurochemical and microbiota changes in the rat. Psychoneuroendocrinology 116:104673. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104673,
Du, T., Liu, X., He, Y., Gao, X., Liu, Z., Wang, Z., et al. (2023). Changes of gut microbiota and tricarboxylic acid metabolites may be helpful in early diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis: a pilot study. Front. Microbiol. 14:1119981. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1119981,
Faas, M. M., and Smink, A. M. (2025). Shaping immunity: the influence of the maternal gut bacteria on fetal immune development. Semin. Immunopathol. 47:13. doi: 10.1007/s00281-025-01039-8,
Fang, Q., Tu, Y., Fan, X., Zang, T., Wu, N., Qiu, T., et al. (2023). Inflammatory cytokines and prenatal depression: is there a mediating role of maternal gut microbiota? J. Psychiatr. Res. 164, 458–467. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.06.034,
Flores Ventura, E., Esteban-Torres, M., Gueimonde, M., van Sinderen, D., Koren, O., Hall, L. J., et al. (2025). Mother-to-infant vertical transmission in early life: a systematic review and proportional meta-analysis of bifidobacterium strain transmissibility. NPJ Biofilms Microb 11:121. doi: 10.1038/s41522-025-00720-y,
Fu, Y., Gou, W., Wu, P., Lai, Y., Liang, X., Zhang, K., et al. (2024). Landscape of the gut mycobiome dynamics during pregnancy and its relationship with host metabolism and pregnancy health. Gut 73, 1302–1312. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2024-332260,
Galley, J. D., Mashburn-Warren, L., Blalock, L. C., Lauber, C. L., Carroll, J. E., Ross, K. M., et al. (2023). Maternal anxiety, depression and stress affects offspring gut microbiome diversity and bifidobacterial abundances. Brain Behav. Immun. 107, 253–264. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.10.005,
Gangakhedkar, G. R., and Kulkarni, A. P. (2021). Physiological changes in pregnancy. Indian J. Crit. Care Med. 25, S189–S192. doi: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24039,
Gupta, A., Chan, S. Y., Toh, R., Low, J. M., Liu, I. M. Z., Lim, S. L., et al. (2024). Gestational diabetes-related gut microbiome dysbiosis is not influenced by different asian ethnicities and dietary interventions: a pilot study. Sci. Rep. 14:9855. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60386-y,
Gur, T. L., Shay, L., Palkar, A. V., Fisher, S., Varaljay, V. A., Dowd, S., et al. (2017). Prenatal stress affects placental cytokines and neurotrophins, commensal microbes, and anxiety-like behavior in adult female offspring. Brain Behav. Immun. 64, 50–58. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2016.12.021,
Harzing, A., and Alakangas, S. (2016). Google scholar, scopus and the web of science: a longitudinal and cross-disciplinary comparison. Scientometrics 106, 787–804. doi: 10.1007/s11192-015-1798-9
He, Y., Du, W., Xiao, S., Zeng, B., She, X., Liu, D., et al. (2021). Colonization of fecal microbiota from patients with neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis exacerbates intestinal injury in germfree mice subjected to necrotizing enterocolitis-induction protocol via alterations in butyrate and regulatory t cells. J. Transl. Med. 19:510. doi: 10.1186/s12967-021-03109-5,
Heida, F. H., van Zoonen, A. G. J. F., Hulscher, J. B. F., Te Kiefte, B. J. C., Wessels, R., Kooi, E. M. W., et al. (2016). A necrotizing enterocolitis-associated gut microbiota is present in the meconium: results of a prospective study. Clin. Infect. Dis. 62, 863–870. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciw016,
Hoen, A. G., Coker, M. O., Madan, J. C., Pathmasiri, W., McRitchie, S., Dade, E. F., et al. (2021). Association of cesarean delivery and formula supplementation with the stool metabolome of 6-week-old infants. Meta 11:702. doi: 10.3390/metabo11100702,
Houttu, N., Mokkala, K., and Laitinen, K. (2018). Overweight and obesity status in pregnant women are related to intestinal microbiota and serum metabolic and inflammatory profiles. Clin. Nutr. 37, 1955–1966. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2017.12.013,
Hsiao, E. Y., McBride, S. W., Hsien, S., Sharon, G., Hyde, E. R., McCue, T., et al. (2013). Microbiota modulate behavioral and physiological abnormalities associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Cell 155, 1451–1463. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.11.024,
Jin, J., Gao, L., Zou, X., Zhang, Y., Zheng, Z., Zhang, X., et al. (2022). Gut dysbiosis promotes preeclampsia by regulating macrophages and trophoblasts. Circ. Res. 131, 492–506. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.320771,
Kang, H. M., Kim, S., Hwang-Bo, S., Yoo, I. H., Seo, Y., Oh, M. Y., et al. (2022). Compositional differences of meconium microbiomes of preterm and term infants, and infants that developed necrotizing enterocolitis or feeding intolerance. Pathogens 12:55. doi: 10.3390/pathogens12010055,
Kim, G., Bae, J., Kim, M. J., Kwon, H., Park, G., Kim, S., et al. (2020). Delayed establishment of gut microbiota in infants delivered by cesarean section. Front. Microbiol. 11:2099. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.02099,
Kim, S. Y., and Youn, Y. (2024). Gut dysbiosis in the first-passed meconium microbiomes of Korean preterm infants compared to full-term neonates. Microorganisms 12:1271. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12071271,
Koren, O., Goodrich, J. K., Cullender, T. C., Spor, A., Laitinen, K., Backhed, H. K., et al. (2012). Host remodeling of the gut microbiome and metabolic changes during pregnancy. Cell 150, 470–480. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.07.008,
Korpela, K., Helve, O., Kolho, K., Saisto, T., Skogberg, K., Dikareva, E., et al. (2020). Maternal fecal microbiota transplantation in cesarean-born infants rapidly restores normal gut microbial development: a proof-of-concept study. Cell 183, 324–334. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.08.047
Lazarides, M. K., Lazaridou, I., and Papanas, N. (2025). Bibliometric analysis: bridging informatics with science. Int J Low Extrem Wounds 24, 515–517. doi: 10.1177/15347346231153538,
Li, H., Liu, S., Chen, H., Zhou, L., Chen, B., Wang, M., et al. (2024). Gut dysbiosis contributes to scfas reduction-associated adipose tissue macrophage polarization in gestational diabetes mellitus. Life Sci. 350:122744. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2024.122744,
Li, Y., Ning, X., Zhao, Z., He, X., Xue, Q., Zhou, M., et al. (2024). Core fucosylation of maternal milk N-glycans imparts early-life immune tolerance through gut microbiota-dependent regulation in RORgammat(+) Treg cells. Food Funct. 15, 4140–4153. doi: 10.1039/d4fo00230j
Li, J., Wang, M., Ma, S., Jin, Z., Yin, H., and Yang, S. (2024). Association of gastrointestinal microbiome and obesity with gestational diabetes mellitus-an updated globally based review of the high-quality literatures. Nutr. Diabetes 14:31. doi: 10.1038/s41387-024-00291-5,
Li, S., Zhang, N., Li, W., Zhang, H., and Wang, X. (2024). Gastrointestinal problems in a valproic acid-induced rat model of autism: from maternal intestinal health to offspring intestinal function. World J. Psychiatry 14, 1095–1105. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i7.1095,
Lindberg, T. P., Caimano, M. J., Hagadorn, J. I., Bennett, E. M., Maas, K., Brownell, E. A., et al. (2020). Preterm infant gut microbial patterns related to the development of necrotizing enterocolitis. J. Matern. Fetal Neonatal Med. 33, 349–358. doi: 10.1080/14767058.2018.1490719,
Liu, X., Du, T., Gao, X., Zhao, W., Wang, Z., He, Y., et al. (2022). Gut microbiota and short-chain fatty acids may be new biomarkers for predicting neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis: a pilot study. Front. Microbiol. 13:969656. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.969656,
Liu, Y., Hou, J., Qi, Z., Yang, L., Du, Z., Wu, Y., et al. (2025). Prenatal psychological stress mediates vertical transmission of gut microbiome to the next generation affecting offspring depressive-like behaviors and neurotransmitter. Bmc Psychol. 13:791. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03088-y,
Liu, Z., Sun, J., and Wang, W. (2022). Gut microbiota in gastrointestinal diseases during pregnancy. World J. Clin. Cases 10, 2976–2989. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i10.2976,
Liu, L., Xiang, M., Cai, X., Wu, B., Chen, C., Cai, N., et al. (2023). Multi-omics analyses of gut microbiota via 16s rrna gene sequencing, lc-ms/ms and diffusion tension imaging reveal aberrant microbiota-gut-brain axis in very low or extremely low birth weight infants with white matter injury. BMC Microbiol. 23:387. doi: 10.1186/s12866-023-03103-5,
Liu, J., Zhai, X., Ding, L., Yu, M., Zhang, Q., Liu, J., et al. (2024). Landscapes of maternal and neonatal gut microbiome and plasma metabolome signatures and their interaction in gestational diabetes mellitus. J. Nutr. Biochem. 134:109716. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2024.109716,
Madan, J. C., Hoen, A. G., Lundgren, S. N., Farzan, S. F., Cottingham, K. L., Morrison, H. G., et al. (2016). Association of cesarean delivery and formula supplementation with the intestinal microbiome of 6-week-old infants. JAMA Pediatr. 170, 212–219. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.3732,
McVey Neufeld, K., O'Mahony, S. M., Hoban, A. E., Waworuntu, R. V., Berg, B. M., Dinan, T. G., et al. (2019). Neurobehavioural effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG alone and in combination with prebiotics polydextrose and galactooligosaccharide in male rats exposed to early-life stress. Nutr. Neurosci. 22, 425–434. doi: 10.1080/1028415X.2017.1397875,
Mei, S., Chen, Y., Long, Y., Cen, X., Zhao, X., Zhang, X., et al. (2025). Association of gut microbiota with overweight/obesity combined with gestational diabetes mellitus. J. Med. Microbiol. 74:2010. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.002010,
Merter, O. S., and Altay, N. (2024). Effect of feeding fresh or frozen breast milk on the gut microbiota of premature infants: a prospective observational study. Biol. Res. Nurs. 26, 78–90. doi: 10.1177/10998004231191728,
Miko, E., Csaszar, A., Bodis, J., and Kovacs, K. (2022). The maternal-fetal gut microbiota axis: physiological changes, dietary influence, and modulation possibilities. Life 12:424. doi: 10.3390/life12030424,
Nuzum, N. D., Deady, C., Kittel-Schneider, S., Cryan, J. F., O'Mahony, S. M., and Clarke, G. (2024). More than just a number: the gut microbiota and brain function across the extremes of life. Gut Microbes 16:2418988. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2024.2418988,
O'Mahony, S. M., McVey Neufeld, K., Waworuntu, R. V., Pusceddu, M. M., Manurung, S., Murphy, K., et al. (2020). The enduring effects of early-life stress on the microbiota-gut-brain axis are buffered by dietary supplementation with milk fat globule membrane and a prebiotic blend. Eur. J. Neurosci. 51, 1042–1058. doi: 10.1111/ejn.14514,
Penders, J., Thijs, C., Vink, C., Stelma, F. F., Snijders, B., Kummeling, I., et al. (2006). Factors influencing the composition of the intestinal microbiota in early infancy. Pediatrics 118, 511–521. doi: 10.1542/peds.2005-2824,
Pusceddu, M. M., El Aidy, S., Crispie, F., O'Sullivan, O., Cotter, P., Stanton, C., et al. (2015). N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (pufas) reverse the impact of early-life stress on the gut microbiota. PLoS One 10:e139721. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139721,
Ratsika, A., Codagnone, M. G., Bastiaanssen, T. F. S., Hoffmann Sarda, F. A., Lynch, C. M. K., Ventura-Silva, A. P., et al. (2024). Maternal high-fat diet-induced microbiota changes are associated with alterations in embryonic brain metabolites and adolescent behaviour. Brain Behav. Immun. 121, 317–330. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.07.020,
Rendina, D. N., Lubach, G. R., Phillips, G. J., Lyte, M., and Coe, C. L. (2019). Maternal and breast milk influences on the infant gut microbiome, enteric health and growth outcomes of rhesus monkeys. J. Pediatr. Gastroenterol. Nutr. 69, 363–369. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000002394,
Reznik, S. E., Akinyemi, A. J., Harary, D., Latuga, M. S., Fuloria, M., and Charron, M. J. (2024). The effect of cesarean delivery on the neonatal gut microbiome in an under-resourced population in the bronx, ny, Usa. BMC Pediatr. 24:450. doi: 10.1186/s12887-024-04908-7,
Rinninella, E., Raoul, P., Cintoni, M., Franceschi, F., Miggiano, G. A. D., Gasbarrini, A., et al. (2019). What is the healthy gut microbiota composition? A changing ecosystem across age, environment, diet, and diseases. Microorganisms 7:14. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms7010014,
Saez-Fuertes, L., Kapravelou, G., Grases-Pinto, B., Bernabeu, M., Knipping, K., Garssen, J., et al. (2024a). Early-life supplementation enhances gastrointestinal immunity and microbiota in young rats. Foods 13:2058. doi: 10.3390/foods13132058,
Saez-Fuertes, L., Kapravelou, G., Grases-Pinto, B., Bernabeu, M., Knipping, K., Garssen, J., et al. (2024b). Maternal synbiotic supplementation with b. breve m-16v and scgos/lcfos shape offspring immune development and gut microbiota at the end of suckling. Nutrients 16:1890. doi: 10.3390/nu16121890,
Saez-Fuertes, L., Kapravelou, G., Grases-Pinto, B., Massot-Cladera, M., Bernabeu, M., Knipping, K., et al. (2024c). Impact of maternal bifidobacterium breve m-16v and scgos/lcfos supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on the maternal immune system and milk composition. Front. Immunol. 15:1418594. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1418594,
Salia, S., Burke, F. F., Hinks, M. E., Randell, A. M., Matheson, M. A., Walling, S. G., et al. (2025). Gut microbiota transfer from the preclinical maternal immune activation model of autism is sufficient to induce sex-specific alterations in immune response and behavioural outcomes. Brain Behav. Immun. 123, 813–823. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.10.030,
Sohrabi, R., Mousavi, S. N., Shapouri, R., Nasiri, Z., Heidarzadeh, S., and Shokri, R. (2025). The gut dysbiosis of mothers with gestational diabetes and its correlation with diet. Sci. Rep. 15:18566. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-03767-1,
Sugino, K. Y., Hernandez, T. L., Barbour, L. A., Kofonow, J. M., Frank, D. N., and Friedman, J. E. (2024). Distinct plasma metabolomic and gut microbiome profiles after gestational diabetes mellitus diet treatment: implications for personalized dietary interventions. Microorganisms 12:1369. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12071369,
Tain, Y., Hou, C., Chang-Chien, G., Lin, S., and Hsu, C. (2023a). Protective role of taurine on rat offspring hypertension in the setting of maternal chronic kidney disease. Antioxidants 12:2059. doi: 10.3390/antiox12122059,
Tain, Y., Hou, C., Chang-Chien, G., Lin, S., and Hsu, C. (2023b). Protection by means of perinatal oral sodium thiosulfate administration against offspring hypertension in a rat model of maternal chronic kidney disease. Antioxidants 12:1344. doi: 10.3390/antiox12071344,
Tain, Y., Hou, C., Chang-Chien, G., Lin, S., and Hsu, C. (2024a). Chondroitin sulfate ameliorates hypertension in male offspring rat born to mothers fed an adenine diet. Antioxidants 13:944. doi: 10.3390/antiox13080944,
Tain, Y., Hou, C., Chang-Chien, G., Lin, S., and Hsu, C. (2024b). Perinatal use of citrulline rescues hypertension in adult male offspring born to pregnant uremic rats. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 25:1612. doi: 10.3390/ijms25031612,
Tain, Y., Hou, C., Chen, W., Liao, W., and Hsu, C. (2024c). Lactoferrin supplementation during pregnancy and lactation protects adult male rat offspring from hypertension induced by maternal adenine diet. Nutrients 16:2607. doi: 10.3390/nu16162607,
Tain, Y., Hou, C., Tzeng, H., Lin, S., Chang-Chien, G., Lee, W., et al. (2024d). Effect of purified resveratrol butyrate ester monomers against hypertension after maternal high-fructose intake in adult offspring. Nutrients 16:3132. doi: 10.3390/nu16183132,
Tain, Y., and Hsu, C. (2025). Does maternal consumption of nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners result in offspring hypertension? Front. Nutr. 12:1464269. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1464269,
Tang, H., Li, D., Peng, J., Yang, W., Zhang, X., and Li, H. (2024). Potential association of gut microbial metabolism and circulating mrna based on multiomics sequencing analysis in fetal growth restriction. Mediat. Inflamm. 2024:9986187. doi: 10.1155/2024/9986187,
Tang, R., Xiao, G., Jian, Y., Yuan, Q., Jiang, C., and Wang, W. (2022). The gut microbiota dysbiosis in preeclampsia contributed to trophoblast cell proliferation, invasion, and migration via lncRNA BC030099/NF-kappaB pathway. Mediat. Inflamm. 2022:6367264. doi: 10.1155/2022/6367264
Thompson, M. D., Kang, J., Faerber, A., Hinrichs, H., Ozler, O., Cowen, J., et al. (2022). Maternal obesogenic diet regulates offspring bile acid homeostasis and hepatic lipid metabolism via the gut microbiome in mice. Am. J. Physiol.-Gastroint. Liver Physiol. 322, G295–G309. doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00247.2021,
Thorburn, A. N., McKenzie, C. I., Shen, S., Stanley, D., Macia, L., Mason, L. J., et al. (2015). Evidence that asthma is a developmental origin disease influenced by maternal diet and bacterial metabolites. Nat. Commun. 6:7320. doi: 10.1038/ncomms8320,
Uchida, A., Imai, K., Miki, R., Hamaguchi, T., Nishiwaki, H., Ito, M., et al. (2025). Butyrate-producing bacteria in pregnancy maintenance: mitigating dysbiosis-induced preterm birth. J. Transl. Med. 23:533. doi: 10.1186/s12967-025-06534-y,
Vaishampayan, P. A., Kuehl, J. V., Froula, J. L., Morgan, J. L., Ochman, H., and Francino, M. P. (2010). Comparative metagenomics and population dynamics of the gut microbiota in mother and infant. Genome Biol. Evol. 2, 53–66. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evp057,
van de Wijgert, J. H. H. M., Verwijs, M. C., Agaba, S. K., Bronowski, C., Mwambarangwe, L., Uwineza, M., et al. (2020). Intermittent lactobacilli-containing vaginal probiotic or metronidazole use to prevent bacterial vaginosis recurrence: a pilot study incorporating microscopy and sequencing. Sci. Rep. 10:3884. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-60671-6,
Wang, W., Chen, L., Wang, G., Zhang, J., Tan, X., Lin, Q., et al. (2020). Urinary bile acid profile of newborns born by cesarean section is characterized by oxidative metabolism of primary bile acids: limited roles of fetal-specific CYP3A7 in cholate oxidations. Drug Metab. Dispos. 48, 662–672. doi: 10.1124/dmd.120.000011,
Wang, S., Liu, Y., Qin, S., and Yang, H. (2022). Composition of maternal circulating short-chain fatty acids in gestational diabetes mellitus and their associations with placental metabolism. Nutrients 14:3727. doi: 10.3390/nu14183727,
Wang, Y., Rui, B., Ze, X., Liu, Y., Yu, D., Liu, Y., et al. (2024). Sialic acid-based probiotic intervention in lactating mothers improves the neonatal gut microbiota and immune responses by regulating sialylated milk oligosaccharide synthesis via the gut-breast axis. Gut Microbes 16:2334967. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2024.2334967,
Wang, J., Shi, Z., Yang, J., Wei, Y., Wang, X., and Zhao, Y. (2020). Gut microbiota dysbiosis in preeclampsia patients in the second and third trimesters. Chin. Med. J. 133, 1057–1065. doi: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000000734,
Wang, J., Zheng, J., Shi, W., Du, N., Xu, X., Zhang, Y., et al. (2018). Dysbiosis of maternal and neonatal microbiota associated with gestational diabetes mellitus. Gut 67, 1614–1625. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2018-315988,
Wilmes, L., Caputi, V., Bastiaanssen, T. F. S., Collins, J. M., Crispie, F., Cotter, P. D., et al. (2024). Sex specific gut-microbiota signatures of resilient and comorbid gut-brain phenotypes induced by early life stress. Neurobiol. Stress 33:100686. doi: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2024.100686,
Wong, K. E., Luft, C., Vella, V. R., Ainsworth-Cruickshank, G. R. J., Wijesundara, K. K., Holman, P. J., et al. (2025). Role of gut microbiota and its functional products in prenatal alcohol-induced anxiety-like behavior. Prog. Neuro-Psychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 141:111454. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2025.111454,
Xue, C., Xie, Q., Zhang, C., Hu, Y., Song, X., Jia, Y., et al. (2022). Vertical transmission of the gut microbiota influences glucose metabolism in offspring of mice with hyperglycaemia in pregnancy. Microbiome 10:122. doi: 10.1186/s40168-022-01318-8,
Yang, Y., Guo, Y., Kan, Q., Zhou, X. G., Zhou, X. Y., and Li, Y. (2014). A meta-analysis of probiotics for preventing necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm neonates. Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res. 47, 804–810. doi: 10.1590/1414-431x20143857,
Yang, Y., Zhao, S., Yang, X., Li, W., Si, J., and Yang, X. (2022). The antidepressant potential of lactobacillus casei in the postpartum depression rat model mediated by the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Neurosci. Lett. 774:136474. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136474,
Yatsunenko, T., Rey, F. E., Manary, M. J., Trehan, I., Dominguez-Bello, M. G., Contreras, M., et al. (2012). Human gut microbiome viewed across age and geography. Nature 486, 222–227. doi: 10.1038/nature11053,
Yuan, G., Wen, S., Zhong, X., Yang, X., Xie, L., Wu, X., et al. (2023). Inulin alleviates offspring asthma by altering maternal intestinal microbiome composition to increase short-chain fatty acids. PLoS One 18:e283105. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283105
Zacarias, M. F., Collado, M. C., Gomez-Gallego, C., Flinck, H., Aittoniemi, J., Isolauri, E., et al. (2018). Pregestational overweight and obesity are associated with differences in gut microbiota composition and systemic inflammation in the third trimester. PLoS One 13:e200305. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200305,
Zhao, Q., Hao, Y., Yang, X., Mao, J., Tian, F., Gao, Y., et al. (2023). Mitigation of maternal fecal microbiota transplantation on neurobehavioral deficits of offspring rats prenatally exposed to arsenic: role of microbiota-gut-brain axis. J. Hazard. Mater. 457:131816. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131816,
Zhao, C., Mo, L., Li, J., and Deng, Q. (2021). Oxidized milk induces spatial learning and memory impairment by altering gut microbiota in offspring mice during pregnancy and lactation. J. Agric. Food Chem. 69, 9934–9946. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c02716,
Zhou, H., Sun, J., Yu, B., Liu, Z., Chen, H., He, J., et al. (2021). Gut microbiota absence and transplantation affect growth and intestinal functions: an investigation in a germ-free pig model. Anim Nutr. 7, 295–304. doi: 10.1016/j.aninu.2020.11.012,
Zhou, L., Tang, L., Zhou, C., Wen, S. W., Krewski, D., and Xie, R. (2024). Association of maternal postpartum depression symptoms with infant neurodevelopment and gut microbiota. Front. Psych. 15:1385229. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1385229,
Zhou, J., Wang, Y., Fan, Q., Liu, Y., Liu, H., Yan, J., et al. (2020). High levels of fucosylation and sialylation of milk n-glycans from mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus alter the offspring gut microbiome and immune balance in mice. FASEB J. 34, 3715–3731. doi: 10.1096/fj.201901674R,
Zhu, J., and Liu, W. (2020). A tale of two databases: the use of web of science and scopus in academic papers. Scientometrics 123, 321–335. doi: 10.1007/s11192-020-03387-8
Keywords: gut microbiota during pregnancy, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, bibliometric analysis, gestational diabetes mellitus, maternal-infant health, gut-brain axis
Citation: Chen A, Luo Z and Zhang J (2025) Gut microbiota during pregnancy: a bibliometric analysis of global research trends and collaborative networks. Front. Microbiol. 16:1708359. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1708359
Edited by:
Merih Cetinkaya, University of Health Sciences, TürkiyeReviewed by:
Ismael San Mauro Martín, CINUSA Group, SpainMo Liao, Dazhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, China
Copyright © 2025 Chen, Luo and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Jinqiu Zhang, emhhbmdqaW43NjM1QDE2My5jb20=