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It has been commonly accepted that the intrauterine environment during pregnancy is relatively sterile and that the introduction of bacteria could lead to the development of chorioamnionitis. However, several recent studies have found both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria — including taxa not associated with the urogenital tract — in placental tissue showing no evidence of chorioamnionitis. To explore this issue further, researchers in Texas undertook a comprehensive metagenomic analysis of the microbiome of sterilely processed placental tissue from 48 women (about one third each with healthy pregnancies, spontaneous preterm deliveries, or histories of clinically symptomatic infections during the first or early second trimester).
The…