A recent study conducted by Case Western Reserve and Yale Universities has revealed that previously unknown bacteria could be responsible for pre-term births. These bacteria were found in the mouth and it is estimated that it could be the cause of 80% of premature births in the US.
Preventing pre-term births could be as easy as encouraging good oral hygiene or prescribing antibiotics during pregnancy. This study was published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
“The earlier the woman goes into pre-term labor, the higher the chance that she will be infected,” said Yiping Han, a doctor at Case Western University involved with the study and an author for the published findings.
In the United States 12% of all births are classified as pre-term which is defined as a pregnancy lasting less than 37 weeks; the normal gestation period of humans is 40 weeks. This pre-term birth rate is about 30% higher than the statistics from 1981 and the reasons are still unknown. Premature babies are susceptible to mental retardation, vision and hearing problems and in some cases death.
Because the process of labor is still quite unknown to scientists and biologists it is difficult to determine the exact cause of pre-term births. Everything from genetics to infections are related causes to pre-term births but none of them are completely definitive at this time.
When Dr. Han and her collaborative research team infected laboratory mice with a previously unknown bacterium Bergeyella, they caused pre-term births.
Research done in human pregnancies, have displayed a correlation between infections and premature pregnancies. Doctors and researchers took samples of amniotic fluid from 46 different women with a high risk of pre term labor. Out of these women 21 of them delivered pre-term babies, 32 weeks or earlier, and close to 85% were found to have bacteria that had not been known beforehand.
These bacteria are typically found in the mouth but should a cut or cavity be present the bacteria can spread into the blood stream and cause an immune system response. After entering the blood stream they can move within the blood stream and collect in the uterus which has the capabilities of inflaming the uterus and causing premature labor.
Identification of the infection is performed through the use of a polymerase chain reaction test which is far more meticulous and sensitive than standard testing. By using this new technique doctors and scientists are able to find the Bergeyella bacterium as well as the genetic markers for 10 or 11 different bacteria that have not previously been identified.