Oral Bacteria Link Mother And Stillborn Baby
Oral Bacteria Link Mother And Stillborn BabyThe department of periodontics at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine reports it has documented a link between a mother’s pregnancy associated gum disease and the death of her fetus. The findings
Oral Bacteria Link Mother And Stillborn Baby
The department of periodontics at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine reports it has documented a link between a mother’s pregnancy-associated gum disease and the death of her fetus.
The findings are the result of a study led by Yiping Han published in the article, “Term Stillbirth Caused by Oral Fusobacterium nucleatum.” The article appears in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Han’s research lab works to understand the role variations of the oral bacteria, Fusobacterium nucleatum, have on pre-term labor and stillbirths.
The mother who was the subject of Han’s research effort delivered a full-term baby at 39 weeks and five days.
During the 35-year-old mother’s pregnancy—reported as her first–she told Han she experienced excessive gum bleeding, a symptom of pregnancy-associated gingivitis. Approximately 75 percent of pregnant women experience gum bleeding due to the hormonal changes during pregnancy.
Bleeding associated with gingivitis allowed bacteria to enter the mother’s blood and work its way to the placenta.
Even though the amniotic fluid was not available for testing, Han suspects from work with animal models that the bacteria entered the immune-free amniotic fluid and were eventually ingested by the baby.
Han says normally a mother’s immune system takes care of the bacteria in the blood before it reaches the placenta. But in this case, the mother also experienced an upper respiratory infection similar to a cold and low-grade fever days before the stillbirth.
“The timing is important here because it fits the time frame of hematogenous spreading we observed in animals,” Han says.
Postmortem microbial studies of the baby discovered F. nucleatum in the lungs and stomach. The baby died from a septic infection and inflammation caused by bacteria.
Following the still birth, Han arranged for the baby’s mother to visit a periodontist, where plaque samples were collected from the woman’s teeth.
Through DNA cloning technologies, Han found a match in the bacterium in the mother’s mouth with the bacterium in the baby’s infected lungs and stomach.
“The testing strongly suggested the bacteria were delivered through the blood,” Han said.
With preventive periodontal treatment and oral health care, the mother who was the subject of Han’s research has since given birth to a healthy baby.
The researcher suggests women who are considering a pregnancy seek dental care to resolve potentially dangerous oral health problems before becoming pregnant. Han encourages expectant mothers to practice good oral health and alert their doctors to any gum bleeding.
Source: Case Western Reserve University
