Could Antibiotics During Pregnancy Help Reduce Preterm Births in Women with HIV?

New Delhi, June 6 (NationPress) A daily administration of a widely recognized, safe, and affordable antibiotic may aid in decreasing the incidence of preterm births (defined as births occurring at or before 37 weeks’ gestation) among women diagnosed with HIV, as revealed in a study involving nearly 1,000 expectant mothers in Zimbabwe.

An international team of researchers hailing from the UK and Zimbabwe discovered that HIV-positive women who consumed the antibiotic trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole during their pregnancy delivered larger infants who were less prone to being born prematurely.

Trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial with anti-inflammatory effects, commonly utilized in sub-Saharan Africa.

The research indicated that among a subset of 131 HIV-positive women, the drop in preterm deliveries was particularly pronounced, with merely 2 percent of births in the trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole cohort being preterm, contrasted with 14 percent in the placebo group.

“Our results imply that a cost-effective, daily antibiotic in a region where infections like HIV are prevalent could potentially lower the risk of preterm births. There is an urgent need for innovative strategies to avert preterm births, which remain the primary cause of child mortality under the age of five,” stated Andrew Prendergast, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunology at Queen Mary University of London.

“Should further trials validate that trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole diminishes the likelihood of premature births, it would present a promising new method to enhance the survival and development of newborns,” he continued.

Globally, one in four live-born infants is either preterm, small for their gestational age, or has a low birth weight.

The mortality rate for these small, at-risk newborns is alarmingly high, with prematurity now recognized as the leading cause of death among children under five.

Maternal infections and inflammation during pregnancy have been linked to adverse birth outcomes, particularly for babies born to HIV-positive mothers, who are at an elevated risk of being born too small or too early.

The randomized controlled trial engaged 993 pregnant women from three antenatal clinics in central Zimbabwe, administering either 960 mg of the antibiotic or a placebo daily.

The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrated that although birth weights did not significantly differ between the two groups, the trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole group experienced a 40 percent reduction in the rate of preterm births when compared to the placebo group.

In total, 6.9 percent of mothers receiving the antibiotic had babies born preterm, in contrast to 11.5 percent of mothers in the placebo group, with no mothers taking antibiotics giving birth before 28 weeks.