Probiotics ‘can cut chances of an early birth’

Probiotics packed with ‘friendly bacteria’ could reduce premature birth rates, scientists believe.

they have found that the bugs in a pregnant woman’s body seem to affect whether she goes into labour early.

the finding raises the possibility of mothers-to-be being given a bacterial screening test.

those deemed to have the wrong mix of bugs could be given drugs or other treatments to cut their odds of giving birth too soon. it may even be possible to create a probiotic tablet because the probiotic yoghurts and drinks in supermarkets lack the necessary concentration of friendly bacteria.

Premature birth is the world’s biggest killer of newborns, claiming the lives of more than one million of the 13million pre-term babies born each year. in britain, one in 13 babies is born prematurely – defined as before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

those that survive face a host of health problems, with one in ten developing a permanent disability such as lung disease, cerebral palsy, blindness or deafness. Every extra week in the womb can be beneficial.

the research at stanford University in california looked at possible links between the bacteria that live naturally in a woman’s body and her odds of giving birth prematurely.

such bugs have already been linked with a host of conditions including autism, multiple sclerosis and bowel cancer.

For the study, 49 women gave regular samples during their pregnancy and after birth.

Analysis showed the samples from the reproductive tract to be key, with the 15 who gave birth early tending to lack bugs from the lactobacillus family.

Dr David relman, who led the research, said: ‘these findings may help us screen women and identify and predict those who are more likely to have a baby born too soon.’

such women could then be given hormone tablets or a stitch in the cervix, the neck of the womb, in a bid to stop them from giving birth prematurely.

Another option is to give them steroids to mature their baby’s lungs, boosting their odds of survival if they are born early.

Joe Leigh simpson, of the March of Dimes charity which funded the study, said another option could be a probiotic supplement that rebalances the bugs in a woman’s reproductive tract.

He said having too few friendly bacteria may leave a woman’s womb open to attack by other bacteria and toxins, triggering early birth. the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of sciences, had another interesting finding.

it showed that the pattern of bugs in a woman’s body changes immediately after giving birth.

Even if her baby was not premature, levels of friendly lactobacillus bugs fell. in some cases, it took a year for the bacteria levels to return to normal.

Dr simpson said that this could explain why women who have their babies in quick succession have higher odds of a premature birth.

Professor Andrew shennan, of the baby charity tommy’s, said: ‘there are roughly 60,000 babies born prematurely each year in the UK with neonatal care costing thousands of pounds a day.

‘For some babies, the long-term health consequences can be very serious with neurological damage, chronic lung disease and loss of vision and hearing a risk.

‘ by being able to i dentify women at high risk of pre-term birth, doctors can action a targeted care plan to help improve outcomes for babies, such as giving the mum a cervical stitch or steroids to help the baby’s lungs mature.’

However, he added that there are already highly-accurate tests for premature birth.

it is too early to say what form any probiotics would take. However, a suppository that is inserted directly into the reproductive tract might be effective.

‘Targeted care plan’