Preventing Preterm Birth – with Mouthwash

While premature infants have a better chance than ever before of surviving with few or no long-term effects, preterm labor still something every expectant mother dreads and would do anything to avoid. It is estimated that 12 percent of babies in the United States are born before full term. Several studies in the news this week report findings on what may or may not help to prevent preterm births.

First, and most interestingly, a team at the University of Pennsylvia has found that simply using mouthwash may have a significant effect on premature birth rates. The researchers recruited about 200 pregnant women with periodontal disease and told the study group to use an alcohol-free mouthwash twice a day. The control group followed their usual routines.

Even after adjusting for confounding factors such as smoking and age, the team still found that the mouthwash-using group of women had an amazing two-thirds reduction in preterm births. Their babies also had significantly higher birth weights.

This is a very important finding, since it's well-known that the hormones of pregnancy can cause bleeding gums and other irritation of mouth tissue. It appears that this inflammation and the bacteria associated with it might actually trigger pretern labor. Many pregnant woman are reluctant to go to the dentist, but good dental care clearly cannot be stressed enough. Something as simple and economical as mouthwash is a great preventative measure.

In other news, a study of 73,000 Norwegian woman has concluded that taking folate during pregnancy has no effect on your chances of delivering prematurely. This is in direct contradiction of a 2008 U.S. study that found that taking folate for a year before getting pregnant could reduce the risk of preterm birth by 70 percent. Medical experts are in disagreement about how to interpret these new results.

Regardless of whether folate can prevent preterm births, however, it is still recommended that women take at least 400 micrograms of folic acid (the supplement form of folate) before and during pregnancy to prevent brain and spinal cord defects.

Finally, the FDA has approved a new drug, called Makena, designed to reduce the risk of premature birth. The injectable drug is a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone. It was approved under the FDA's accelerated approval program, which means further studies are still needed to evaluate its efficacy. It's estimated that 30,000 U.S. women would be eligible for the shot each year, preventing a potential 10,000 premature births annually.