Does my Vaginal Microbiome Impact my Risk of Preterm Birth?
Preterm birth is when a baby is born too early. 1 in 13 babies born in the UK are born prematurely, with this number only rising.
There are many risks associated with pre-term birth, with the earlier a child is born meaning the risk of health complications are higher. Of course not all preterm babies will develop all of these outcomes, but it is important to remember that there is a risk of your child developing such. This is because their systems are likely to be less developed than babies carried fully to term:
- Breathing problems
- Brain development problems
- Heart problems
- Digestive problems
- Learning and behavioural difficulties
- Vision and hearing issues
Other risk factors
There are many different reasons as to why a child may be prematurely including:
- Pregnancy with more than one child: twins, triplets, etc.
- History of preterm birth
- History of recurrent miscarriage,
- Weight: either being overweight or underweight prior to pregnancy
- Age: pregnancy outside of the 17-35 age range
- Lifestyle: including severe stress, smoking
- Health issues: including: some infections, diabetes, body injuries
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How does the vaginal microbiome play a role?
It has been found that women who gave birth to preterm babies demonstrated significantly lower levels of specific bacteria (Lactobacillus crispatus) in the vaginal microbiome. Therefore it is really important to discover the relative amount/ percentage of this bacteria present in your vaginal microbiome. Recent research continues to support that the vaginal microbiome can be indicative of preterm birth and therefore can play a key role in your child’s health.
So what can I do?
Particularly for those who have experienced preterm birth or recurrent miscarriage, we would highly recommend testing your vaginal microbiome. Every vaginal microbiome is different, with different strains and relative amounts of bacteria.
Once you have determined exactly what bacteria are present and the relative amounts of each, you can take measures to address any imbalances. Vaginal microbiome can be changed, and you can directly influence your vaginal health in multiple ways including: your diet, lifestyle, supplements, and more!
Get one of ScreenMe’s Vaginal Health Bacteria & Yeast Packages which include:
- Testing of the bacteria and yeast in your sample
- 99% accurate, gold-standard NGS technology
- Screening of the entire vaginal ecosystem
- Discovery of your vaginal community state-type
- Comprehensive report of your vaginal health from ScreenMe experts
- Free 1:1 online consultation with our experts to discuss results, and create a bespoke plan of action
We hope this has helped, and if you need any further support then please feel free to contact us at [email protected]
Fariba Khonsari