Some babies seem to have a genetic
predisposition to a higher risk of being born too soon. Changes in the baby’s
DNA – not the mother’s – may be what triggers some early births.
In an exciting new study,
researchers analyzed the number of copies of certain genes in the blood or
saliva from hundreds of babies and their mothers. A gene is a part of your
body’s cells that stores instructions for the way your body grows and works.
What the scientists found may be somewhat surprising. There was no link
between the number of copies of the mother’s genes and the chances of a preterm
baby. However, there was a two- to eleven-fold increase in premature births
before 34 weeks of pregnancy when any of four genes were duplicated or seven
genes were deleted in the babies born preterm, when compared to babies born
full-term.
The researchers think that the
differences in the number of copies of the genes may not be causing a preterm
birth, but they may put a baby at a higher risk of infection or reacting to
other harmful environmental factors that may trigger early labor and delivery.
“These findings may help explain
what triggers early labor in some women even when they’ve done everything right
during pregnancy and there’s no obvious cause for an early birth,” explained
March of Dimes Chief Medical Officer Edward R. B. McCabe, MD, MPH. “The hope is
that this finding may one day lead to a screening test to help identify which
babies are at a higher risk of an early birth.”
Stay tuned for upcoming details. We
will blog again when we have more information.
Tags: genetics, premature birth, research
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