Vaginal Bacteria Can Reveal Risk Of Preterm Births

Not much is known why some women give birth prematurely. A new research claims bacterial composition in vagina may just be the missing piece in the puzzle.

According to US News and World Report researchers who examined microbial composition from guts, mouths and vaginas of 49 women during pregnancy, found greater bacterial diversity in women who had delivered premature babies. Fifteen women had delivered prematurely.

"We wanted to develop a baseline understanding of what happens to the human microbiome during pregnancy, both in women who deliver healthy, term babies and in those who deliver prematurely," said the study's senior author, David Relman.

Relman and his team found existence of five patterns in the women's bacterial colonies of which only one pattern, characterized by greater bacterial diversity, high levels of gardnerella and ureaplasma bacteria, and low levels of lactobacillus, was associated with increased risk of pre-term births. Researchers also learnt that such patterns were visible early during pregnancy, indicating the possibility of developing a marker for women who are likely to deliver premature babies.

"I think our data suggest that if the microbiome plays a role in premature birth, it may be something that is long in the making. It may be that an event in the first trimester or early second trimester, or even prior to pregnancy, starts the clock ticking," said study's lead author, Daniel DiGiulio.