Survey of microbiota associated with spontaneous preterm labor in Kenya

Preterm birth is a global problem with about 10% of pregnancies in sub-Saharan Africa occurring before 37 weeks of gestation. However, the association of preterm labor with Gardnerella-related vaginal dysbiosis raises the question of whether there is a broader association of the vaginal microbiota with preterm labor. The current study showed no association of preterm birth with community state type. It does provide important information on the range of sequence types in African women with and supports other data suggesting that women of African ancestry had an increased frequency of non-Lactobacillus types, but without evidence of associated adverse outcomes.