Pregnant women should not be routinely screened and treated for an infection that is associated with an increased risk of preterm delivery, new study findings suggest.

In the study, pregnant women who received the drug metronidazole (Flagyl) for a vaginal infection known as asymptomatic vaginal trichomoniasis, were nearly twice as likely to deliver their babies early, compared with women who received an inactive medication or placebo.

The investigators found that 19% of the women who received the drug delivered their baby before 37 weeks' gestation.

Only 11% of the women who took the placebo experienced preterm delivery. A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks, but delivery anywhere from 38 weeks to 42 weeks is considered safe.

Routine screening and treatment of symptomless pregnant women for this condition cannot be recommended, the researchers concluded. The majority of women who have vaginal trichomoniasis -- a sexually transmitted infection -- do not have symptoms, which can include vaginal discharge and burning.

Because the infection in pregnant women has been linked to an increased risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight infants, screening and treating the infection during pregnancy has been recommended, although it was unclear whether the treatment reduced the risk of early delivery.

The New England Journal of Medicine August 16, 2001 ;345:487-493

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Another example of traditional medicine using overly aggressive measures to correct a problem which clearly is related to lifestyle. The high volume of vegetables, especially living uncooked vegetables in juicing will provide an alkalinizing effect on the body that will encourage the proper balance of bacterial growth in the vaginal area which will help to normalize the flora and kill all vaginal parasites. One should also supplement with a high quality probiotic. I am excited to announce that I will very shortly be distributing the finest probiotic in the world, VSL#3. It is made by an Italian pharmaceutical firm VSL Pharmaceuticals, Inc and has one half trillion organisms per dose. That is 500 billion. Most products in the US only have 1 billion or so. I was using a product that had 50 billion but this product has ten times as many organisms. It has eight strains and has been thoroughly researched at Mayo Clinic and half a dozen other major medical centers in the US. I met with the developer Professor DeSimone, a gastronenterologist and immunologist, on August 14 when he was visiting the US from Italy and was able to secure one of the first US distribution rights. This approach would likely help ALL vaginal infections, such as yeast and Group B Strep which is also treated with antibiotics.