Researchers: bacteria linked to water breaking prematurely during pregnancy

According to a news release from the Duke University Medical Center, a high presence of bacteria at the location where fetal membranes split may be essential to determining why some pregnant women experience their “water breaking” prematurely.
The results of the study imply that the bacterial presence is linked with thinning of the fetal membranes. Additional research is required to determine whether bacterial presence is a cause or consequence of fetal membrane weakening.

“Complications of preterm births can have long-term health effects for both mothers and children,” noted study author Amy P. Murtha, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University School of Medicine, in a statement. “Our research focuses on why the fetal membranes, or water sac, break early in some women, with the overall goal of better understanding the mechanisms of preterm membrane rupture.”

Fetal membranes help maintain pregnancy through gestation. Almost one-third of all early deliveries are linked with the water breaking in what’s called preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM).

Previous work showed that the chorion (one of the fetal cell layers) has more cell death when infection is present, and that this cell layer may be thinner in women who experience PPROM. The researchers found that among PPROM patients with infection in the fetal membranes, the cell death within the chorion layer was greatest, implying that infection may play a role in causing PPROM.

For this study, researchers analyzed chorion membrane samples to determine a pattern of bacterial presence and association with chorion thinning. They gathered membrane samples from a total of 48 women after they gave birth. They determined chorion thinning and bacterial presence in membrane samples gathered from both near and far from the rupture location.

In all women, the researchers found that the chorion membrane was thinner at the rupture location than at the distant site. However, chorion thinning was the worst among PPROM patients and was not confined to the rupture location, as the researchers noted a global chorion thinning even distant from where the membrane broke.

The researchers than determined whether bacteria were present in the membranes and whether bacteria levels corresponded to the thinning of the cell layers in the membranes. The amount of bacteria present at the rupture site was higher, according to the researchers.

Among PPROM patients, bacteria numbers were greatest compared to all other groups at both the rupture site and distant from the rupture site. Among all patients, bacterial numbers were inversely correlated with chorion thinning.

“We still know little about changes occurring within the fetal membrane in the presence of bacteria, but our data suggest the chorion and its thinning may be the battleground for these changes,” Murtha explained.


Read more: http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/researchers-bacteria-linked-to-water-breaking-prematurely-during-pregnancy/#ixzz2pur79KcH

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