Research Article
Maya Rashkova, Nina Toneva, Ma
Abstract
Aims. The overall aim of the present study was to examine the risk factors that influence oral colonisation with Candida during pregnancy, delivery, and following birth of the child. Within this overall aim there were two specific aims which were: to study early oral colonisation with Candida in children immediately after birth and to study oral colonisation with Candida during pregnancy. Methods. The study investigated 79 newly borne infants for two maternity homes in Sofia and Rousse, Bulgaria. Parameters of child and maternal health were recorded using a standardise form. Swabs were taken from the children’s mouths and assayed after cultivation for 48 hours at 35 ºC. The resulting data were statistically tested. Results. Candida was isolated from the mouths of 13 newborn children. Of the mothers of children studied, 28.37% had complications during pregnancy, referred to as a high-risk pregnancy. A statistical comparison of the oral candidal infection between children born normally and by Caesarean section shows no significant difference between the two groups (?21,2 = 0.0041, P > 0.05). Examination of the relationship between vaginal candidosis in the mother during pregnancy and the presence of oral Candida in the newborn child suggested that this is an important risk factor for the early transmission of Candida. Conclusions. In this study: Candida carriage in newborn children was 16%, with quantities of Candida ranging between 103 to 106 cells/ml without any clinical manifestation of oral candidosis. High-risk pregnancies and premature birth were most frequently associated with the early colonisation of the oral cavity with Candida. For the majority of newborn children, there was a strong relationship between maternal vaginal Candida and oral colonisation by Candida in the child. Feeding methods did not influence oral colonisation with Candida.