Could a probiotic during pregnancy help babies grow stronger?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

All pregnant women in their first or early second trimester of pregnancy, residing in the icddr,b service area of Matlab, who meet the eligibility criteria decribed below. Inclusion criteria 1. Women aged 18 years or older in their first or early second trimester of pregnancy (13-17 weeks of gestational age \[GA\]), living in defined geographical areas of Bangladesh (Matlab), Pakistan, Zambia, and Burkina Faso, where it can be assumed that environmental enteropathy is prevalent AND 2. Presence of any 2 out of 11 selected bacterial pathogen targets (Aeromonas, Campylobacter coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter Pan, Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli, Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Plesiomonas, Shigella\_EIEC, Salmonella and Klebsiella pneumoniae in fecal samples measured by TAC-qPCR. AND 3. Presence of any of the following WASH conditions - 1\. use surface water, unimproved water, or limited water for drinking; OR 2. use surface water, unimproved water, or limited water for cooking; OR 3. use surface water, unimproved water, or limited water for washing utensils; OR 4. practice open defecation, use unimproved sanitation (toilet facility), or limited sanitation (toilet facility); OR 5. lack facility or have limited facility for handwashing Exclusion criteria Potential participants will not be enrolled if they: 1. have MUAC ≥30 cm 2. are carrying more than one fetus (i.e., multiple pregnancy) 3. have diarrhea, defined as the passage of three or more loose stools per 24 hours, or have had diarrhea in the preceding 14 days 4. have fever or an active infection 5. have taken antibiotics or probiotics in the preceding 14 days 6. have taken steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the preceding 14 days 7. have severe anemia as determined using finger stick Hb \< 8 g/dl 8. have a history of chronic digestive disease 9. have any gastrointestinal contraindication to ingestion of a capsule (known or suspected gastrointestinal obstruction, stricture, fistula, gastroparesis, or any swallowing disorder) 10. have known immunocompromised status (known history of HIV infection, autoimmune disease, diabetes mellitus, etc.) 11. have known drug hypersensitivity/allergy/intolerance 12. have chronic disease or any other illness or condition which in the opinion of the investigator will complicate the assessment of safety or efficacy 13. are medically disqualified: Any potential participant who is deemed medically unfit for trial enrollment by a non-study healthcare provider, due to the presence of severe or unstable health conditions that could compromise safety or interfere with the study outcomes, will be excluded from participation 14. have a plan to observe fast any time during the intervention period 15. have a plan to leave the study area within the follow-up period 16. are participating in any other interventional trial 17. belong to a household from which another woman is already enrolled in the study but may be enrolled if/when these disqualifiers have expired.