The following is a summary of a study from Case Western Reserve University
“CWRU dental researcher finds first oral bacteria linking a mother and her stillborn baby.”
Yiping Han, a research professor from the Department of Periodontics at Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, reported last month the first documented link between a mother with pregnancy-associated gum disease and the death of her fetus.
The findings are discussed in the article, “Term Stillbirth Caused by Fusobacterium nucleatum.” in the February issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
In 2008, a 35 year old mother delivered a full term stillborn baby at 39 weeks and five days after having excessive gum bleeding during her pregnancy.
Bleeding from the gingivitis allowed the bacteria from her mouth to enter the blood and find its way to the placenta.
The amniotic fluid was not available for testing, but from his experience in working with animals, Han thought that the bacteria entered the immune free amniotic fluid and was ingested by the baby.
Han states that normally a mother’s immune system takes care of the bacteria in the blood before it reaches the placenta. However, this mother had an upper respiratory infection and fever just days before the stillbirth.
“The timing is important because it fits the time frame of hematogenous (through the blood) spreading that we observed in animals,” Han said in a press release in January.
Postmortem studies showed the baby died from septic infection and inflammation caused by bacteria. After questioning the mother about her health during her pregnancy, Han arranged for the mother to see a periodontist who collected plaque samples from her teeth.
Using DNA cloning techniques, Han found the bacteria in the mother’s mouth matched the bacteria in the baby’s infected lungs and stomach.
“The testing strongly suggested the bacteria were delivered through the blood,” Han stated. He continues, that his research points to the growing importance of good oral health care.
The mother has had preventive periodontal treatment and has since delivered a healthy baby.
Collaborating with Han on the Case study were Yann Fardini, Casey Chen, Karla G. Iacampo, Victori A. Peraino, James Shamonki and Raymond W. Redline. The study had support from the National Institute of Dental Craniofacial Research.