Pregnancy and the Hidden Ecosystem Within: Bacteria, Birth, and Beyond

How a mother’s gut shapes her baby’s future health

When I was a resident, I cared for a woman who proudly told me she had been taking antibiotics “just in case” during her pregnancy because she wanted to avoid any infection. She believed she was protecting her baby. What she didn’t realize was that antibiotics, especially when taken without medical need, wipe out not only harmful bacteria but also the b…