Week 2 : Infection in Pregnancy Flashcards
What is preterm birth?
Birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation
What weight is considered low birth weight?
Less than 2.5kg at birth
What is defined as a late miscarriage?
Fetal loss between 16 and 23 weeks of gestation
Define stillbirth.
Fetal death after 23 weeks
What is preeclampsia?
High blood pressure and 1 additional related morbidity
How does immune response change during pregnancy?
- Numbers of circulating neutrophils increase
- Antibody production increases
- T cells may be suppressed to avoid reaction with “foreign” components of the foetus.
What impact does the supression of T cells have on pregnant women?
- The phases of symptoms and detectable virus will last longer if T cell activity is suppressed.
- Pregnant women are more likely than non-pregnant women to be hospitalised with influenza.
What is malaria?
A mosquito-borne parasite that causes liver damage in its sexual reproductive phase and red blood cell lysis in its asexual phase.
How does malaria during pregnancy affect babies?
800 000 low birth weight babies are born every year attributable to malaria during pregnancy
Where do malaria parasites accumulate?
In the placenta
How does pyrimethamine affect bacteria?
Changes the gut microbiome to increase bacteria that are better at releasing energy from fibre and “resistant starch” (microbiome sequencing).
How does pyrimethamine affect growth in a foetus?
Reduction in other inflammatory conditions in the mother can improve growth in the foetus – infection screening and inflammation biomarker testing
Can inflammation suppress foetal growth?
IL-6 likely has a direct suppressive effect on growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor and so probably.
What is chorioamnionitis?
Infiltration of foetal membranes (chorion and amnion) by maternal neutrophils
What is chorioamnionitis caused by?
Bacteria invading from the vagina, but detection of bacteria seldom undertaken
