Foetal Immune Rejection Causes Pre-term Labour

Foetal immune rejection may be one of the causes for preterm labour -- a common pregnancy complication leading to birth occuring before the 37th week of pregnancy, found research.

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.

Caring for a Premature Baby
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.

‘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.’

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.

These chemicals then trigger contractions, leading to preterm labour, the leading cause of infant mortality, the researchers explained.

Learn About Pregnancy
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.

"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.