Patients who have preterm labour as a result of some kind of infection or inflammation -- the most common cause of preterm labour -- the foetal immune system awakens prematurely and may trigger labour, say researchers.
The findings showed that it may sometimes happen when the foetal immune system "wakes up" too early and begins to reject the mother, causing the uterus to start contracting.
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A baby born at 37 weeks or earlier is termed premature or "preemie." The premature baby requires special care and attention in an NICU as well as at home.
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‘Foetal immune rejection may be one of the causes for preterm labour -- a common pregnancy complication leading to birth occurring before the 37th week of pregnancy.’
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The researchers think the foetal immune system becomes triggered in a case of mistaken identity.
An initial infection in the mother can result in inflammation and arouse the foetal immune system. The foetal immune cells confuse the mother's cells for an invader and mount an attack, in the form of inflammatory chemicals.
![Learn About Pregnancy - Animation]( "Learn About Pregnancy - Animation")
Pregnancy Labor is caused by series of progressive expulsive contractions by the uterus and results in delivery of the baby from the mothers womb to the outside world.
These chemicals then trigger contractions, leading to preterm labour, the leading cause of infant mortality, the researchers explained.
"The dogma has always been that the foetus has a very immature immune system, and as a result, people haven't really considered its possible role in pregnancy complications," said Tippi MacKenzie, Associate Professor at the University of California-San Francisco.
For the new study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the team tested umbilical cord blood, which contains foetal cells, along with blood taken from nearly 200 women who had healthy pregnancies and those who went into early labour.
While the scientists saw no signs of an immune response in the mother's blood, they instead, detected activation in two types of immune cells -- T-cells and dendritic cells -- in the cord blood of preterm infants.
The researchers also found greater numbers of the mother's cells circulating in the cord blood of preterm infants.
Source: IANS
Learn About Pregnancy - Animation
Pregnancy Labor is caused by series of progressive expulsive contractions by the uterus and results in delivery of the baby from the mothers womb to the outside world.
Advertisement
These chemicals then trigger contractions, leading to preterm labour, the leading cause of infant mortality, the researchers explained.
"The dogma has always been that the foetus has a very immature immune system, and as a result, people haven't really considered its possible role in pregnancy complications," said Tippi MacKenzie, Associate Professor at the University of California-San Francisco.
For the new study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the team tested umbilical cord blood, which contains foetal cells, along with blood taken from nearly 200 women who had healthy pregnancies and those who went into early labour.
While the scientists saw no signs of an immune response in the mother's blood, they instead, detected activation in two types of immune cells -- T-cells and dendritic cells -- in the cord blood of preterm infants.
The researchers also found greater numbers of the mother's cells circulating in the cord blood of preterm infants.
Source: IANS
Quiz on Symptoms and Signs of Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a happy as well as an anxious time for women, especially first-time mothers. Test your knowledge on the symptoms and signs of pregnancy by taking this quiz.
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 High Risk Pregnancy Group CalculatorMedindia offers you a useful calculator to find out if you fall under the high risk pregnant group. Take the precautionary steps and avoid complications during pregnancy. | Advertisement
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