Pregnancy News: Thread Used In Labor Operation Linked To Increased Preterm Birth And Baby Death

A type of thread that majority of surgeons use to stitch the cervix of pregnant women to prevent premature birth or miscarriage has been associated with an increased risk of premature birth and death of the baby in the womb. This is according to the findings of researchers from Imperial College London published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Science Daily reported that majority of surgeons use a thicker thread for cervical stitching, which is meant to delay a baby's delivery and prevent bacteria from passing through the pregnant woman's cervix and reaching the baby in the womb. Only 20 percent of surgeons use a thinner thread.

Babies dying because surgeons use 'wrong type of thread' for pregnancy operation  https://t.co/8kpQ7K9twx

— Telegraph Science (@TelegraphSci) August 3, 2016

There were 671 women from the United Kingdom involved in the study. According to a report from EurekAlert, the use of the thicker thread was linked to a three-fold increase in the rate of baby death in the womb compared to when thinner thread was used to stitch the cervix of the pregnant woman.Using the thicker thread was also associated with an increased rate of premature birth.

According to the report, the thinner thread, is called monofilament, made of nylon and is around 1 mm thick and is similar to the thread used in fishing lines. The thicker thread is called multifilament and is made of smaller threads that are woven together. It is thought to be more efficient in keeping the cervix of pregnant women closed. 

"Although the cervical stitch procedure still holds benefits for women overall, our results suggest the thicker thread may encourage the growth of potentially dangerous bacteria in the cervix," said lead author Professor Phillip Bennett, as per a report from The Telegraph. Bennett is from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London.

Bennett said he and the researchers urge the use of the thicker thread only in a research setting until further investigation of the risks from its use is completed. According to the report, Bennett's team estimate that the use of the thinner thread for stitching pregnant women could prevent 260 babies from dying and 280 babies from being prematurely born each year.