Bacteria may Cause Premature Births: Study

A recent study shows how bacteria may be the cause for some women's pregnant water to break early-potentially leading to labor before the projected due date.

Researchers from Duke University School of Medicine examined premature births that are caused primarily by ruptures to the membranes that hold the baby back from early labor. These births are responsible for approximately one-third of all pre-term babies, with preterm premature rupturing of the membranes referred to as PPROM.

The study authors analyzed the membrane samples collected from 48 women who had recently given birth either preterm or full-term. Some of the preterm births were caused by PPROM. When the researches examined the PPROM instances, they found that women who delivered this way had higher concentrations of bacteria in comparison to others involved in the study. Thus, they concluded that higher levels of bacteria could ultimately be responsible for the thinning out of membranes that cause preterm births.  

With more information on the bacteria involved in the pre-term births, researchers believe that preventative treatments could be provided for new mothers at high risk for such issues.

"For instance, if we think that certain bacteria are associated with premature rupturing of the membranes, we can screen for this bacteria early in pregnancy. We then might be able to treat affected women with antibiotics and reduce their risk for PPROM," study's author, Amy Murtha, who is an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the university said, via the BBC News. "Our research is several steps away from this, but it gives us opportunities to explore potential targeted therapeutic interventions, which we lack in obstetrics."

More information regarding the study can be found via PLOS One.