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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- About 12 percent of all births in the United States are preterm, putting children at risk for lifelong physical and neurological damage. Results of a new study may have found a preventable cause of many of these premature births.
From an analysis of amniotic fluid samples from women in preterm labor, researchers found 15 percent of fluid samples contained bacteria or fungi. The greater level of the infection, the more likely the women were to deliver sicker, younger infants. That number is more than 50 percent greater than previous estimates.
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To find that this amniotic compartment is infected significantly more often than we thought is a little shocking, David Reiman, M.D., a professor of infectious disease and of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine, was quoted as saying.
Researchers say infections of the amniotic fluid likely contribute to preterm delivers by causing inflammation in pregnant women. Microbes can enter the amniotic sac from the vagina or through the mothers bloodstream -- often from her mouth. Both gum disease and bacterial vaginosis have been linked to premature delivery.
If we could prevent these infections in the first place, or detect them sooner, we might one day be able to prevent some of these premature births, Dan DiGiulio, M.D., a researcher from Stanford University School of Medicine, was quoted as saying.
SOURCE: PLoS ONE, 2008
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This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
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