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Study: Infection Tied To Premature Birth

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 26, 2008

WASHINGTON - Infections may play a bigger role in premature birth than doctors have thought, says a new study that found almost one in seven women in preterm labor harbored bacteria or fungi in their amniotic fluid.

It's a small study, and it doesn't prove that the germs triggered the early labor.

Monday's research used specialized molecular testing to uncover microbes that ordinary methods miss, and thus uncovered more women with simmering infections than previously estimated.

The more heavily infected the amniotic fluid, the more likely the woman was to deliver a younger, sicker baby, researchers reported in PLoS One, the online journal of the Public Library of Science.

The Associated Press

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