The association between idiopathic spontaneous preterm delivery, an infected intra-uterine environment and hyaline membrane disease.

A total of 110 preterm infants delivered as a result of the spontaneous onset of labour in the absence of obvious maternal and/or neonatal lesions and without premature rupture of the membranes was examined prospectively. Thirty per cent had more than 5 pus cells per high-power field in the gastric aspirate at birth. This finding correlated significantly with a lower incidence of hyaline membrane disease (HMD). All infants who developed HMD had negative or intermediate foam test results. There was no consistent relationship between either the pus cell count or the foam test result and the development of the wet lung syndrome. Data from our community suggest that many spontaneous deliveries occur in association with an infected itra-uterine environment.