Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MOM2CHILD (Impact of maternal nutritional status and microbiota on child anthropometric and metabolic development)
Période du rapport: 2025-09-01 au 2026-08-31
The MOM2CHILD project studies how conditions during pregnancy and early life influence a child’s growth and risk of metabolic diseases later in life. It focuses on three key factors: maternal nutrition, the community of microorganisms living in the body (the microbiota), and biological mechanisms that can regulate gene activity without changing the DNA sequence (epigenetic regulation). The first thousand days of life, from conception to two years of age, are a critical period for long-term health. Yet many populations today face a “double burden of malnutrition”, where undernutrition coexists with increasing rates of obesity and metabolic disorders.
By analysing data from two long-term mother–child cohorts in different geographical and socioeconomic settings, the project aims to identify both common biological mechanisms and context-specific patterns that link maternal health to child development. It examines how the nutritional and metabolic status of pregnant women is associated with the composition of their microbiota at different body sites, how these early exposures relate to children’s growth and metabolic profiles, and whether lasting biological marks on gene regulation may help explain these links. By combining clinical data, growth measurements, and molecular information, the project seeks to provide a comprehensive picture of how early environments shape lifelong metabolic health and how prevention could start as early as pregnancy.
The project concludes that maternal nutritional status is associated with microbiota differences in microbiota composition at multiple body sites (fecal and oral), and that the metabolic status is associations with slight differences in microbiota composition at the vaginal site. These findings highlight the potential of prenatal and early-life interventions to improve lifelong metabolic health.
By analysing data from two long-term mother–child cohorts in different geographical and socioeconomic settings, the project aims to identify both common biological mechanisms and context-specific patterns that link maternal health to child development. It examines how the nutritional and metabolic status of pregnant women is associated with the composition of their microbiota at different body sites, how these early exposures relate to children’s growth and metabolic profiles, and whether lasting biological marks on gene regulation may help explain these links. By combining clinical data, growth measurements, and molecular information, the project seeks to provide a comprehensive picture of how early environments shape lifelong metabolic health and how prevention could start as early as pregnancy.
The project concludes that maternal nutritional status is associated with microbiota differences in microbiota composition at multiple body sites (fecal and oral), and that the metabolic status is associations with slight differences in microbiota composition at the vaginal site. These findings highlight the potential of prenatal and early-life interventions to improve lifelong metabolic health.
During the reporting period, the project generated and analysed high-quality biological and clinical data from the two participating mother–child cohorts. Samples from pregnant women (vaginal, stool and oral) were collected and analysed using advanced DNA-based methods that identify and quantify all microorganisms present and their potential functions. These microbiota data were combined with detailed information on maternal diet, body measurements, and metabolic markers in blood.
At the same time, data on children’s growth, body composition, and basic metabolic indicators from birth to two years of age were compiled and harmonised. Preparatory work and training were also carried out to enable the future analysis of epigenetic markers, which reflect how early exposures may influence gene activity.
Overall, the project has established a unique, long-term dataset that links maternal nutrition, microbiota, and child growth across different world regions, providing a strong basis for understanding how early-life conditions influence later metabolic health.
Key achievements include the characterization of maternal microbiota composition and its association with nutritional and metabolic status, as well as the establishment of datasets linking maternal health to child development. The project also expanded its scope to include oral and fecal microbiota, enhancing its scientific impact. Results have been partially disseminated through a published video on social media, and further exploitation is planned, including three scientific publications and an international seminar in 2026. Training activities, such as workshops and supervision of students, supported knowledge transfer and capacity building.
At the same time, data on children’s growth, body composition, and basic metabolic indicators from birth to two years of age were compiled and harmonised. Preparatory work and training were also carried out to enable the future analysis of epigenetic markers, which reflect how early exposures may influence gene activity.
Overall, the project has established a unique, long-term dataset that links maternal nutrition, microbiota, and child growth across different world regions, providing a strong basis for understanding how early-life conditions influence later metabolic health.
Key achievements include the characterization of maternal microbiota composition and its association with nutritional and metabolic status, as well as the establishment of datasets linking maternal health to child development. The project also expanded its scope to include oral and fecal microbiota, enhancing its scientific impact. Results have been partially disseminated through a published video on social media, and further exploitation is planned, including three scientific publications and an international seminar in 2026. Training activities, such as workshops and supervision of students, supported knowledge transfer and capacity building.
Most existing studies examine either maternal nutrition, the microbiota, or child growth separately, often in a single country and at one body site only. MOM2CHILD goes beyond this by bringing these elements together in the same mothers and children, across different populations (Laos and Spain), and by following them over time. It is one of the first projects to jointly analyse maternal diet, metabolic health, microorganisms from several body sites, and early child development in a coordinated, cross-continental framework.
Early findings show that women with different nutritional and metabolic profiles during pregnancy also differ in the composition of their microbiota. This suggests that both undernutrition and excess weight may leave measurable biological “signatures” in microbial communities, which could in turn influence the child’s early metabolic development. The project also establishes shared laboratory and data-analysis procedures across countries, making results directly comparable and creating a model that can be reused by other international birth cohort studies.
The added value of MOM2CHILD therefore lies in its integrated, global, and life-course approach: instead of studying single factors in isolation, it connects nutrition, microbes, and biological regulation mechanisms to better explain how early conditions may set children on healthier or less healthy growth pathways.
Early findings show that women with different nutritional and metabolic profiles during pregnancy also differ in the composition of their microbiota. This suggests that both undernutrition and excess weight may leave measurable biological “signatures” in microbial communities, which could in turn influence the child’s early metabolic development. The project also establishes shared laboratory and data-analysis procedures across countries, making results directly comparable and creating a model that can be reused by other international birth cohort studies.
The added value of MOM2CHILD therefore lies in its integrated, global, and life-course approach: instead of studying single factors in isolation, it connects nutrition, microbes, and biological regulation mechanisms to better explain how early conditions may set children on healthier or less healthy growth pathways.