Infections Harboring Amniotic Fluid May Trigger Preterm Labor

A surprising variety of spices- bacteria and fungi - harbor the amniotic fluid of pregnant women and play a greater role in preterm births, than deemed earlier, according to a new study reported in PLoS One, the online journal of the Public Library of Science.

Almost 15 percent (every one in seven) women in preterm labor docked bacteria or fungi in their amniotic fluid, researchers of the new study mark.

Also, the harsher the infections, higher are the chances the women will deliver younger, sicker infants, the research team at Stanford University in California found.

While traditional methods to gauge the levels and type of infection in the amniotic fluid were basically dependent on culturing the organisms in a lab after withdrawing some of the liquid through a needle inserted into the amniotic cavity, the researchers in the current study used a highly sensitive technique, named the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to track the microbes in amniotic fluid.

Samples of amniotic fluid saved from women who had gone into preterm labor at a Detroit Medical Center between October 1998 and December 2002 were analyzed to detect the micro-organisms in amniotic fluid.

Of the total 166 samples, 25 samples were found to be laced with either bacteria or fungi, the researchers revealed. Interestingly, all 25 women with infected amniotic fluid went on to deliver their babies pre-term.

Moreover, researchers came across a surprising new variety of germs - 17 bacterial one fungal - 6 more than the 11 found by conventional analysis.

"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," Dr. Dan DiGiulio, co-author of the study notes.

Premature babies- those born before the 37th week of gestation - are vulnerable to breathing problems, underdeveloped organs, infections and cerebral palsydefine. More than half a million babies a year are born premature in the United States.