LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Genetic traits in mothers and fetuses may play a role in premature labor and delivery, U.S. researchers suggest.
The findings could lead to preventive treatment by helping doctors discover which women are at most risk for premature birth, the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development said in a press release on Thursday.
This would enable doctors to help pregnant women postpone delivery until an appropriate time, said the press release.
The finding was based on analysis of genes from 229 women and 179 premature infants in Chile. All of the women were Hispanic.
The traits are found in genes that regulate inflammation -- the immune system's response to invaders -- and the material that holds cells within tissues, according to the press release.
"A substantial body of scientific evidence indicates that inflammatory hormones may play a significant role in the labor process," said Dr. Alan E. Guttmacher, acting director of the institute.
"The current findings add evidence that individual genetic variation in that response may account for why preterm labor occurs in some pregnancies and not in others."
The findings were presented Thursday in Chicago at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
According to the research, premature birth can cause a long list of problems, ranging from blindness and learning disabilities to death.