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Article: Birth follows "mysterious" rhythms.
- Article from:
- Nutrition Health Review
- Article date:
- January 1, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Vegetus Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Birth Follows "Mysterious" Rhythms
Like many other bodily functions, labor follows a circadian rhythm, cycling in a 24-hour pattern. According to a team of investigators from the universities of Missouri and Michigan, the normal pattern, with its peak onset between midnight and 2 a.m., also holds true for premature births and for pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth retardation. But the researchers found that the pattern shifts if the birth is complicated by chorioamnionitis, an inflammation of the placenta and the membrane that surrounds the fetus.
If inflammation -- usually caused by infection -- exists, labor tends to start earlier in the ...