GENITAL INFECTIONS AS A CAUSE OF PREMATURE BIRTH
Keywords:
Genital infections, premature birthAbstract
Vaginal infections are among the most common infections that women experience during lifetime. It is estimated that every 1 in 2 women will have at least one vaginal infection during their lifetime. Infections and inflammatory processes are the most common causes of premature birth. They can occur in: urinary tract, amniotic membrane, or vagina, and cause inflammation that stimulates uterine contractions that cause premature labor. The purpose of this paper is to determine the importance of adequate diagnosis of genital infections and their impact on premature birth, with the aim of preventing complications of premature babies and thereby also reducing the load in neonatology departments at the secondary and tertiary level. The type of study is prospective. The sample is composed of 50 premature newborns or (4.75%) of a total of 1070 births in the obstetric department, aged 16-34 years registered during the period January-December 2025, were analyzed. In all patients, a detailed anamnesis was taken, a vaginal examination was performed and the diagnosis of infection was established according to clinical and microbiological criteria (vaginal smear). Out of a total of 1070 births, 50 (4.75%) were premature births, while 1020 (95.25%) births were at term. As a conclusion, early diagnosis and adequate treatment of patients are basic factors in the prevention of premature births, which at the same time bring neonatal complications, for this reason they must be detected at their primary level and, as such, avoided, in order not to become a potential cause of early births.
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