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CompletedNCT04032899Updated Feb 6, 2025

Effect of Probiotics Consumed During Pregnancy on the Incidence of Mastitis

An interventional study of Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 and Maltodextrin in Mastitis, Breast Milk and Lactation, sponsored by Biosearch S.A.. Completed at 3 sites in Spain. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 45 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-02-06.

Sponsored by Biosearch S.A. (part of Kerry Group plc) · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
480
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 45 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of consumption during pregnancy and the lactation period of the probiotic L. fermentum CECT5716 on the incidence of mastitis.

Bacterial load and immunological parameters in breast milk, parameters related to breastfeeding as well as health parameters of the mother and baby will also be evaluated.

Read the detailed description

Pregnancy and lactation are important moments for the child that will determine their development and future health. One of the key processes is when the microbiota is established in the baby. Contamination during delivery with the mother's vaginal flora, as well as bacteria from the microbiota of breast milk, are important sources for intestinal colonization. However, the mother's microbiota can suffer alterations that affect the health of the mother and can also have an effect on the baby.

Mastitis is a condition of the mammary gland that can affect between 3-30% of women during the period of lactation and is the first cause of abandonment of it. It is associated with a dysbiosis with the proliferation of microorganisms in milk such as Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.

Previous studies carried out with the strain L. fermentum CECT5716 have demonstrated a powerful regulating activity of the microbiota of breast milk that translates into a preventive and curative effect on mastitis. The highest incidence of mastitis occurs during the first weeks after delivery, so the investigator's working hypothesis is that the modulation of the maternal microbiota before delivery would improve the effectiveness of the probiotic strain consumption.

02

Conditions studied

  • Mastitis
  • Breast Milk
  • Lactation
  • Women's Health
  • Infant Health

Keywords

  • Probiotics
  • Gestation
  • Lactation
  • Mastitis
03

In context

Mastitis

31 studies on the registry are indexed under Mastitis; 7 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 480 is above the median of 114 across 16 interventional studies indexed under Mastitis.

Browse Mastitis studies →

Lead sponsor

Biosearch S.A. is the lead sponsor of 23 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

First submitted before Biosearch S.A. became part of Kerry Group plc.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 45 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Normal development of pregnancy
  • Single fetus pregnancy
  • Be in week 28-32 of pregnancy
  • Intention to breastfeed the child for 16 weeks

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having a breast disease that hinders or prevents breastfeeding
  • Have been taking probiotic supplements 2 weeks before starting the study
  • Have a low expectation of adherence to the study protocol
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
480 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    L. fermentum CECT5716 3x109 ufc

    Volunteers will take 1 capsule per day with L. fermentum CECT5716 3x109 cfu mixed with maltodextrin from week 28-32 of gestation up to 16 weeks after delivery.

    Dietary Supplement: Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716

  • Placebo comparator
    Maltodextrin

    Volunteers will take 1 capsule per day with maltodextrin from week 28-32 of gestation up to 16 weeks after delivery.

    Dietary Supplement: Maltodextrin

Interventions

  • Dietary supplementLactobacillus fermentum CECT5716

    Each participant will consume 1 capsule per day in one of the main meals without any restriction in the diet or in their life habits.

  • Dietary supplementMaltodextrin

    Each participant will consume 1 capsule per day in one of the main meals without any restriction in the diet or in their life habits.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Incidence of mastitis

    Total events during breastfeeding period /total number of participants

    Time frame: 4 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Microbiota of breast milk

    Load of Staphylococcus, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus and L. fermentum CECT5716 in breast milk

    Time frame: 4 months

Other outcomes

  1. Recurrence of mastitis

    Reappearance of mastitis symptoms

    Time frame: 4 months

  2. Breast pain questionnaire

    Mcgill Pain Questionnaire, validated for Spain. The Questionnaire has four dimensions or scales of measures of intensity: Sensory Intensity Value, Affective Intensity Value, Current Intensity Value, and Evaluative Intensity Value. The scales of the Questionnaire were calculated as the sum of their items. Those items were re-corded as 1 if the participant described the pain or as 0 if the participant did not report that type of pain. Thus, the sensory intensity scale can range from 0 to 33, as the full scale is formed by 33 items. The Affective scale varies from 0 to 19, and the scales of Current Intensity and Evaluative Intensity can range from 0 to 6 and 5, respectively

    Time frame: 4 months

  3. Time of Breastfeeding

    Date of initiation and cessation of breastfeeding

    Time frame: 4 months

  4. Percentage of infants breastfeed

    Percentage of infants who receive exclusive breastfeeding

    Time frame: 4 months

  5. Measurement of biomarkers of inflammation in breast milk

    Concentration of IL-1b, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17, TNF-α in breast milk

    Time frame: 4 months

  6. Immunoglobulins in breast milk

    Concentration of IgA, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4 and IgM in breast milk

    Time frame: 4 months

  7. Minerals in breast milk

    Concentration of calcium (μg/L), magnesium (μg/L) and potassium (μg/L) in breast milk

    Time frame: 4 months

  8. Baby feces microbiota

    Presence of Escherichia coli, Clostridium, Bacteroides, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus and L. fermentum CECT5716 in baby feces

    Time frame: 4 months

  9. Data on childbirth

    Incidence of cesareans and incidence of antibiotic use during delivery.

    Time frame: 4 months

  10. Baby's anthropometric measures

    Anthropometric measures of the baby (weight in kg, height in cm and BMI in kg/m2) at birth, 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 16 weeks.

    Time frame: 16 weeks

  11. Data about the intestinal health of the baby

    Data about stool frequency, colour and consistency of the feces and gasses

    Time frame: 4 months

  12. Data about sleep parameters of the baby

    Hours of night sleeping per day and hours of total sleeping during the day

    Time frame: 4 months

07

Study locations

3 sites
  • Hospital Costa del Sol
    Marbella, Andalucia 29603, Spain
  • Hospital Campus de la Salud
    Granada, Grabada 18007, Spain
  • Hospital Virgen de las Nieves
    Granada, 18014, Spain
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Crepinsek MA, Taylor EA, Michener K, Stewart F. Interventions for preventing mastitis after childbirth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 29;9(9):CD007239. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007239.pub4. PubMed 32987448 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 6, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04032899
Lead sponsor
Biosearch S.A.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 25, 2019
Start date
Apr 15, 2019
Primary completion
May 31, 2024
Completion
May 31, 2024
Last update
Feb 6, 2025

Study contacts

Nicolás Mendoza, MD, PhD
principal investigator · Professor of Gynecology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Granada

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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