Every possible complication of pregnancy has been blamed on an amnio. Think about it, a hair-like needle is passed through layers of muscle and a self sealing membrane, removed less than a minute later. Healing begins right away and is complete within a few hours. There is no way that this procedure can be even remotely implicated in pregnancy events weeks or months later, like premature labor. Premature labor is to be distinguished from pPremature rupture of membranes (PROM).
Membranes are sheets of collagen fibers lining the amniotic cavity; they are produced from the same genetic instruction set of chromosomes that program fetal and placental development. When there is a genetic problem in which collagen sheets are thin and weak, then the membranes are prone to spontaneous rupture. Weak collagen is a feature of problems involving chromosome #22. A proper early amnio technique is nearly atruamatic. Membrane ruptures in early in pregnancy only happen when collagen is abnormally weak. Normal membranes are tough, sticky, and self healing. |
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Membranes are weakened by acquired bacterial infections. Bacteria can gain access to the uterus by 'hitching' a ride on the surface of sperm. Pathogenic bacteria, like strep, overcome natural defense mechanisms, multiply in the membranes weakening them and predisposing to rupture and providing a way for the infection to spread to the fetus and mother. In some women, uterine defense mechanisms are weakened by the hormonal excesses of pregnancy, permitting bacteria that normally live in the vagina to infect the cervix, increasing its water content, softening, weakening, and irritating it, eventually triggering labor. The membranes are usually intact, the infection is lcoalized, and there are no symptoms like pain and fever. While the cervix shortens (effaces) silently, some mothers complain of 'heaviness' low in the pelvis. |
Cervical changes indicating a significant premature delivery risk are identified by ultrasound imaging, often in time to halt the process. There is some new evidence that using barrier type birth control measures DURING pregnancy can protect the cervix from infection and decrease the risk of premature delivery.
