The effect of secretor status and the vaginal microbiome on birth outcome

To test the hypothesis of that maternal secretor status (by mutated FUT2 gene) might influence the composition of the vaginal microbiota in pregnancy, the study analysed the relationship between secretor status, vaginal microbiota and gestational length in an ethnically diverse cohort of 313 pregnant women, including 91 who delivered prematurely. The results point towards stratification by secretor status as an important factor for considering preterm birth risk and prevention.