Pregnancy Archives

Are bacteria that secrete protein degradation enzymes responsible for preterm births?

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Dr Laura Sycuro and her team research the vaginal microbiome, with a particular focus on bacteria which could be responsible for preterm birth

Preterm births occur before the 37th week of gestation and are the leading cause of infant deaths around the world. Although there are many factors contributing to preterm labour, including multiple gestation and diseases such as diabetes, approximately 40% of cases are associated with bacterial infection of the uterus. Dr Laura Sycuro and her team at the University of Calgary, […]

Mothers’ burdens after living donor liver transplantation

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Dr Ayaka Fujita researched the physical and mental burden placed on mothers who underwent liver donation and then went on to have more children

Many mothers who donate a portion of their liver to their child go on to have more children. Research has been conducted to investigate whether there are any medical complications associated with pregnancy or childbirth after liver donation, but no research has considered the mothers’ experiences. Dr Ayaka Fujita and colleagues from Kyushu University interviewed women about their experiences with […]

Progesterone signalling is involved in marsupial pregnancy

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Marsupials have a notoriously short pregnancy, and, for many years, researchers believed that progesterone played no part in this process. However, Professor Yolanda Cruz from Oberlin College, Ohio, USA, has studied pregnancy in the lab opossum (Monodelphis domestica) most of her career and believes this is not the case. The researcher unveiled a critical period between day 5 and day […]

Preterm birth and danger-associated molecular patterns

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Adult hand lifts the foot of a premature baby

Preterm birth is the leading cause of infantile mortality. Dr Claire Kendal-Wright from the Chaminade University of Honolulu works on human extra-embryonic membranes. More specifically, she studies danger-associated molecular patterns, or DAMPs, and examines how these molecules contribute to the prelabour rupture of the membranes that leads to birth. Understanding the mechanisms involved in healthy pregnancy could eventually allow the […]

Gestational diabetes: A novel detection strategy

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Gestational diabetes is a complication arising in pregnancy that can lead to serious and lifelong health concerns for the mother and child. Currently all pregnant women undergo screening for gestational diabetes, a time-consuming and demanding procedure. However, diagnosis often comes late in pregnancy, leaving limited time for intervention. Dr Jonatan Dereke and his fellow researchers at Lund University, Sweden are […]