Skip to main content
About the Institute
  • English
  • Français
  • Español
  • Russian
  • Portuguese
  • Polish

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Gynecology
  3. Recurrent miscarriage: a case study on vaginal microbiota transplantation (VMT)
  • Our publications
    • News
    • Microbiota Mag
    • Thematic pages
    • Experts' point of view
    • Thematic folders
    • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
  • About the Institute
    • About us
    • International Microbiota Observatory
    • Press room
    • Partnerships
  • Congresses
    • Congress calendar
    • Congress reviews
  • Continuing Medical Education
    • Accrediting courses
  • Useful documents
    • How to talk about
    • Infographics
    • IBS Diagnosis Check List
    • Patients Stories

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

Lay public section

Find here your dedicated section
Gastroenterology
Gynecology
Pediatrics
General Medicine

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Gynecology
  3. Recurrent miscarriage: a case study on vaginal microbiota transplantation (VMT)
Gynecology

Recurrent miscarriage: a case study on vaginal microbiota transplantation (VMT)

Fertility
General Medicine

In 2023, Danish and American clinicians published the case of a woman in her thirties with a history of late pregnancy losses and severe vaginal dysbiosis. The transplant of a healthy vaginal microbiota suppressed the dysbiosis and its symptoms. A full-term pregnancy ensued. Let’s take a closer look at this clinical case.

Gastroenterology
Gynecology
Pediatrics
General Medicine
  • Our publications
    • News
    • Microbiota Mag
    • Thematic pages
    • Experts' point of view
    • Thematic folders
    • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
  • About the Institute
    • About us
    • International Microbiota Observatory
    • Press room
    • Partnerships
  • Congresses
    • Congress calendar
    • Congress reviews
  • Continuing Medical Education
    • Accrediting courses
  • Useful documents
    • How to talk about
    • Infographics
    • IBS Diagnosis Check List
    • Patients Stories

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

Lay public section

Find here your dedicated section

Sources

This article is based on scientific information

Sharing is caring

Your colleagues might be interested in this topic. Why not share it?

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail

About this article

Created 25 September 2023
Updated 10 February 2025

37% Only 1 in 3 women know that the vaginal microbiota bacteria are safe for the vagina of women

Learn more:
What women know (and don't know) about their vaginal microbiota

This case has clear scientific interest. A woman with a history of late pregnancy losses and severe vaginal dysbiosis undergoes a vaginal microbiota transplant (VMT). Five months later, she becomes pregnant, with a healthy vaginal flora, and subsequently gives birth to a full-term baby. However, the limitations of the study should be noted: it involved a single patient diagnosed with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APLS, a thrombophilia associated with miscarriages). Furthermore, therapy received for this APLS during her last pregnancy may explain the results in part or in full.

50% Only one woman in two knows exactly what vaginal flora is

Vaginal dysbiosis, symptoms and recurrent miscarriages

Prior to the transplant, the 30-year-old mother of one had suffered a series of pregnancy losses, some of them late (gestational week 27 in 2019, and weeks 17 and 23 in 2020). For the previous nine years, she had complained of itching and vaginal discharge (abundant yellow/green vaginal discharge, foul odor), which worsened during her pregnancy attempts, despite treatment. With good reason: in July 2021, her vaginal microbiota showed a very strong dysbiosis, with a 91.3% dominance of Gardnerella spp. This floral composition is the opposite of a healthy vaginal microbiota, in which a few species of vaginal lactobacilli (L. crispatus, L. gasseri, L. iners or L. jensenii) should dominate. These lactobacilli produce lactic acid, which lowers vaginal pH and ensures a woman’s well-being.

Actu PRO : Le microbiote vaginal prédictif du risque d’accouchement prématuré ? 17.09.2019 The vaginal microbiota as a predictor of the risk of premature delivery Read more

The effect of VMT

According to a compassionate use protocol, a VMT from a healthy donor was performed in September 2021, on day 10 of her menstrual cycle, without antibiotic pretreatment. While orally or vaginally administered antibiotics (metronidazole or clindamycin) can have a cure rate for vaginal dysbiosis of 80%-90% one month after treatment, the recurrence rate can be as high as 60% after one year, with the added risk of resistance.

The VMT rapidly corrected the dysbiosis and its symptoms and for several months Lactobacillus strains similar to those of the donor became dominant. In February 2022, the patient became pregnant naturally. (sidenote: The patient had tested negative for APLS after the first miscarriage in 2019 but tested positive in August 2021 before her fifth pregnancy. ) . Regular monitoring of her vaginal microbiota revealed the return of Gardnerella spp. (41.8%) at gestational week six. A second VMT was initially planned for two weeks later, but by the day in question, L. crispatus had once again come to dominate the patient’s microbiota. At the end of the pregnancy, a perfectly healthy baby boy was born via planned cesarean section.

Although they need to be confirmed by further clinical studies, these results suggest that VMT may serve as a treatment for patients with severe vaginal dysbiosis, including those at risk of complications following in vitro fertilization. For the authors, this case study serves as a proof of concept, but it also offers hope for therapies based on the modulation of the vaginal microbiota.

Recommended by our community

"#microbiota is amazing. More similar research is needed for humans." -@LiLNguyenVu (From Biocodex Microbiota Institute on X)

Sources

Wrønding T, Vomstein K, Bosma EF et al. Antibiotic-free vaginal microbiota transplant with donor engraftment, dysbiosis resolution and live birth after recurrent pregnancy loss: a proof of concept case study. EClinicalMedicine. 2023 Jun 26;61.

Tags
Pregnancy Dysbiosis Vaginal microbiota Fertility Fertilization Microbiome Flora

    See also

    Miscarriage: Is vaginal dysbiosis a suspect?
    Endometrial microbiota: a new marker for IVF success?
    Created 25 September 2023
    Updated 10 February 2025

    About this article

    To know more about this topic.

    Main topic

    Fertility

    Medical practice

    General Medicine

    Content type

    News

    Continue reading

    News

    Xpeer course: Microbiota in intimate woman health through the lifespan

    Gynecologists, midwives, and pharmacists, get free ...

    Find out more
    18.02.2025

    The maternal microbiome promotes placental development in mice

    Read the article
    27.06.2024

    Stress urinary incontinence: vaginal microbiota frequently unbalanced

    Read the article
    07.01.2025

    New research finds that vaginal bacteria influences Group B Streptococcus colonization during pregnancy

    Read the article
    10.10.2024

    Gut bacteria turn stress hormones into progestins hormones: a surprising role for hydrogen gas

    Read the article
    Actu PRO : Le microbiote vaginal prédictif du risque d’accouchement prématuré ?
    17.09.2019

    The vaginal microbiota as a predictor of the risk of premature delivery

    Read the article

    Vaginal Microbiota #15

    By Pr. Markku Voutilainen Turku University Faculty of Medicine; Turku University Hospital, Department...

    Find out more

    Maternal obesity during pregnancy and delivery mode

    Press review By Pr. Ener Cagri Dinleyici Professor in Pediatrics, Eskisehir Osmangazi University Fac...

    Find out more
    • Our publications
      • News
      • Microbiota Mag
      • Thematic pages
      • Experts' point of view
      • Thematic folders
      • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
    • About the Institute
      • About us
      • International Microbiota Observatory
      • Press room
      • Partnerships
    • Congresses
      • Congress calendar
      • Congress reviews
    • Continuing Medical Education
      • Accrediting courses
    • Useful documents
      • How to talk about
      • Infographics
      • IBS Diagnosis Check List
      • Patients Stories

      Join the microbiota community

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section
    Gastroenterology
    Gynecology
    Pediatrics
    General Medicine
    • English
    • Français
    • Español
    • Russian
    • Portuguese
    • Polish

    Browse the site

    • Our publications
      • News
      • Microbiota Mag
      • Thematic pages
      • Experts' point of view
      • Thematic folders
      • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
    • About the Institute
      • About us
      • International Microbiota Observatory
      • Press room
      • Partnerships
    • Congresses
      • Congress calendar
      • Congress reviews
    • Continuing Medical Education
      • Accrediting courses
    • Useful documents
      • How to talk about
      • Infographics
      • IBS Diagnosis Check List
      • Patients Stories

      Join the microbiota community

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Discover

    Gastroenterology
    Gynecology
    Pediatrics
    General Medicine

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Redirection

    You are about to be redirected and leave our website

    • Be redirected
    • Stay on the Biocodex Microbiota Institute's website

    Stay with us !

    Join the Microbiota Community of HCPs and researchers and receive “Microbiota Digest” and "Microbiota Mag" to stay up to date on the latest news about microbiota.

    * Mandatory Fields

    BMI 20-35

    Explore

    14.05.2025

    Towards worldwide redefinition of healthy vaginal microbiota

    Read the article
    07.05.2025

    The microbial-metabolic nexus in colon cancer

    Read the article
    02.05.2025

    A new lens on chlamydia: beyond behavior, into the microbiome

    Read the article

    Stay updated

    Join the Microbiota Community of HCPs and researchers and receive “Microbiota Digest” and "Microbiota Mag" to stay up to date on the latest news about microbiota.

    * Mandatory Fields

    BMI 20-35

    • Our publications
      • News
      • Microbiota Mag
      • Thematic pages
      • Experts' point of view
      • Thematic folders
      • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
    • About the Institute
      • About us
      • International Microbiota Observatory
      • Press room
      • Partnerships
    • Congresses
      • Congress calendar
      • Congress reviews
    • Continuing Medical Education
      • Accrediting courses
    • Useful documents
      • How to talk about
      • Infographics
      • IBS Diagnosis Check List
      • Patients Stories

      Join the microbiota community

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Discover

    Gastroenterology
    Gynecology
    Pediatrics
    General Medicine

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

    © 2025 Biocodex. All rights reserved.

    • Legal notice
    • GTU
    • Data protection policy
    • Sitemap
    • Cookies settings
    • Digital accessibility : partially compliant
    Biocodex logo