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Premature birth occurs earlier than 37 weeks of gestation, premature babies or ‘preemies’ are underweight and small, they may have delayed physical growth and development. Early birth has also been linked to broad behavioral and personality issues, thought to be caused by abnormalities in brain development. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, neurological disorders and autism are common in preemies.
Mycoplasma and ureaplasma live in healthy adults without any negative effects but can lead to urinary tract infections and bacterial vaginosis, infection in pregnant women could increase the risk of premature birth, the leading cause of infant illness and death. Understanding the presence of bacteria during pregnancy could leads to development of targeted medicine to stop premature births.
The study of British babies has found a link between those born premature and unhealthy bacteria in the placentas of their mothers.
According to researchers at University College London and Imperial College London, infections during pregnancy can trigger pre-term birth. Infection is known to be a cause of premature birth and recent research has pointed towards variation in the environment in the placenta, or bacteria as a possible cause.
Researchers examined samples from different women taking part in the Baby Bio Bank, a joint project between UCL and Imperial College London. Premature birth can cause physical and developmental problems that last a lifetime. Mycoplasma and ureaplasma can be transferred from one person to another through sexual intercourse, they are types of bacteria that may live harmlessly in the urogenital or respiratory tracts of healthy adults, but they can cause infections.
Having a genital mycoplasma infection may cause pain when urinating or having sex, or bleeding or discharge from the vagina or penis. Ureaplasma infection may cause urethritis or bacterial vaginosis. Infection is contracted through direct contact with diseased cells – whether by genital-to-genital or mouth-to-genital. The infection can be passed from mother to baby in the womb or during vaginal childbirth. The bacteria have been described as ‘opportunistic womb bugs’ associated with premature birth cases and miscarriage.
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