Antibiotics During Pregnancy May Reduce Preterm Births in Women With HIV

A daily dose of a commonly used, safe, and inexpensive antibiotic may help reduce preterm births (born at 37 weeks' gestation or before), in women with HIV, according to a study of almost 1,000 pregnant women in Zimbabwe.

- 

An international group of researchers, from the UK and Zimbabwe, found that women living with HIV who took the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole during their pregnancy had larger babies who were less likely to be preterm.

Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent with anti-inflammatory properties that are widely used in sub-Saharan Africa.