Infections and Pregnancy: Effects on Maternal and Child Health

Abstract

Pregnancy causes physiological and immunological adaptations that allow the mother and fetus to communicate with precision in order to promote a healthy pregnancy. At the same time, these adaptations may make pregnant women more susceptible to infections, resulting in a variety of pregnancy complications; those pathogens may also be vertically transmitted to the fetus, resulting in adverse pregnancy outcomes. Even though the placenta has developed a robust microbial defense to restrict vertical microbial transmission, certain microbial pathogens have evolved mechanisms to avoid the placental barrier and cause congenital diseases. Recent mechanistic studies have begun to uncover the striking role of the maternal microbiota in pregnancy outcomes. In this review, we discuss how microbial pathogens overcome the placental barrier to cause congenital diseases. A better understanding of the placental control of fetal infection should provide new insights into future translational research.

Deep Learning Model Using Continuous Skin Temperature Data Predicts Labor Onset

“…71 Indeed, each individual pregnancy is also an adaptive process. Labor onset timing may be influenced by local factors including infection exposure, 72 stress, 73 activity, 74 maternal characteristics (body habitus 75–77 or auto-immune diseases 78 ) and timing of light exposure. 79 The fetal CNS and adrenal maturation likely play a significant role, and are influenced in-part through placental hormonal production (CRH, estriol, progesterone), sterile inflammation, 80,81 pro-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins (reviewed in 32,82 ).…”

Effects of hepatitis B virus infection and strategies for preventing mother-to-child transmission on maternal and fetal T-cell immunity

“…In the case of viral infections, some viruses have developed innate immune mechanisms to evade the placental barrier. The most common “TORCH” testing includes Toxoplasma gondii, other viruses (such as Treponema pallidum , parvovirus B19, varicella-zoster virus), herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, rubella, and cytomegalovirus ( 44 ). These viruses might cause a series of adverse events, such as early abortion, fetal organ malformations (such as congenital heart disease ( 45 )), functional defects of organs (such as sensorineural hearing loss in children ( 46 )), and so on.…”

The antioxidant N‐acetyl cysteine inhibits cytokine and prostaglandin release in human fetal membranes stimulated ex vivo with lipoteichoic acid or live group B streptococcus

“…Intrauterine infection by bacterial pathogens poses a heightened risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, preterm birth, and neonatal sepsis 1–4 . Among these pathogens, Group B Streptococcus or Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) stands as a prominent bacterial cause of infectious neonatal morbidity and mortality in the United States 5 .…”

“…Intrauterine infection by bacterial pathogens poses a heightened risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, preterm birth, and neonatal sepsis. [1][2][3][4] Among these pathogens, Group B Streptococcus or Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) stands as a prominent bacterial cause of infectious neonatal morbidity and mortality in the United States. 5 While GBS can exist in a commensal state, it has the potential to lead to ascending infections within the intrauterine compartment, giving rise to fetal membrane infections, known as acute bacterial chorioamnionitis.…”