Treatment to prevent early birth ‘actually raises risk’

HUNDREDS of babies have died in Britain because doctors unwittingly gave their mothers a second-rate treatment, research suggests.

A British study has found that one of two ‘cervical stitch’ treatments used thousands of times a year to prevent premature birth is worse than the other.

Worryingly, the inferior treatment has been the most popular, with doctors wrongly believing it to be superior.

In fact, babies are three times as likely to be stillborn or miscarried with it and almost twice as likely to be born prematurely. The researchers, from Imperial College London, are urging surgeons to change their practice.

If they all used the safer technique, 260 babies lives could be saved a year in the UK. There would also be almost 300 fewer premature births, it was reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Cervical stitching, which is performed an estimated 3,250 times a year in the UK, involves sewing up the neck of the womb to keep the unborn baby inside for longer.

Surgeons can use a thin, fishing

Lives could be saved

line-type thread, or a thicker, tape-like one. In Britain, the thicker version is used 80 per cent of the time, because it is easier to work with and thought to provide more support.

However, Imperial researchers analysed data on almost 700 women treated in five UK hospitals and found that those given the thicker thread were much more likely to lose their baby or give birth prematurely than those with the thinner thread.

Research suggests the meshlike structure of the thick thread acts as a breeding ground for bacteria that can trigger dangerous infections in the womb.

A larger study is now being carried out and could lead to new guidelines being issued.

In the meantime, the researchers advise doctors to use the thinner thread. Lead author Professor Phillip Bennett said: ‘We strongly advise that the thicker thread – which is currently used in the majority of procedures – only be used in a research setting whilst we thoroughly investigate the risks this may hold.’