June 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The incidence of chorioamnionitis - an infection of the amniotic fluid,
fetal membranes and placental tissues, and one of the most frequent causes of preterm birth and infant illness - more than doubled between 1995 and 2010, according to a Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published today in the International Journal of Reproductive Medicine.
His group is collaborating with researchers in Europe to conduct in-vivo testing of their mussel-inspired medical sealants for
fetal membrane repair.
Messersmith and colleagues from Belgium, Switzerland and Canada punched holes three millimeters wide into human fetal tissue in vitro to replicate the tiny holes found in
fetal membrane defects.
Inclusion criteria were a singleton live fetus, post-term pregnancy from 40 weeks and 1 day to 40 weeks and 9 days, intact
fetal membranes, Bishop's score [less than or equal to] 5 and cephalic presentation.
Another example of fetal health assessment by maternal sampling of products that are of fetal origin is a recently introduced method for the diagnosis of rupture of
fetal membranes (ROM).
Cytokines (IL-1, IL-6 & TNF-a) can cross human
fetal membranes, and it is plangible that the high concentrations of these cytokines that are generated placenta.
4) The impact of associated infection portends a weakening of the
fetal membranes which theoretically provides a mechanism for rupture.
Simple: The inserted finger directly transports cervicovaginal microbes into the lower uterine space and inoculates the
fetal membranes and maternal decidua with potentially massive numbers of microflora.
3) Expulsion of
fetal membranes and involution of the uterus.
A recent study sponsored in part by NIAID found that HIV-infected women who gave birth more than four hours after the rupture of the
fetal membranes were nearly twice as likely to transmit HIV to their infants, as compared to women who delivered within four hours of membrane rupture.
Measurements took into account the entire "conceptus" - the fetus itself, plus
fetal membranes, fetal fluids, and placental tissue.
One-third of preterm birth is linked to premature rupture of the
fetal membranes.
