A drug prescribed to pregnant women to reduce the risk of early labor¹ could be doing patients more harm than good, a British charity said on Friday.

Tommy's, a charity that funds national research programs to prevent miscarriage² and stillbirths, said the antibiotic³ metronidazole may double the risk of pre-term deliveries.

"Clinicians and high-risk pregnant women should be aware of this research outcome so that we can avoid escalation⁴ of pre-term birth and in turn, save more babies' lives," said Professor Andrew Shennan, of St Thomas' Hospital London and professor of obstetrics for the charity.

An estimated one in 200 pregnant women in Britain are given the drug to treat an infection called bacterial⁵ vaginosis that can cause early labor and pre-term delivery.

Women are screened for the infection in the later stages of pregnancy⁶.

In a study published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shennan and his colleagues studied 900 pregnant women who had a high risk of early labor. The women were randomly⁷ divided to receive the drug or a placebo⁸.

The scientists said 39 percent of women in the placebo group had a pre-term delivery compared to 62 percent of women who had received metronidazole.

"Preterm delivery may be increased by metronidazole therapy," Shennan said in the report. He added that there are some serious conditions for which the drug, a common antibiotic that has been used for decades, is given but it should not be recommended to prevent early labor and pre-term delivery.

"There are other antibiotics⁹ which could treat the condition effectively," Shennan added. 

　　中文：

　　英国一个慈善团体1月13日表示，医生给怀孕妇女开出的一种降低早产危险的抗微生物药物——甲硝唑（灭滴灵），实际上可能会带来相反的效果。服用这种药物会使孕妇早产的危险加倍。

　　据路透社1月13日报道，这个名为“Tommy's”的慈善团体表示，甲硝唑可能会使孕妇发生早产的危险增加一倍。伦敦圣托马斯医院产科教授、同时也是该团体成员的安德鲁·森南对此表示：“临床医生和那些高危孕妇有必要知晓这一研究成果，只有这样我们才能避免发生更多的早产病例，同时也可挽救更多婴儿的生命。”

　　报道说，森南和他的同事对900名有高度早产危险的孕妇进行了相关研究。研究过程中，这些孕妇被随意分为两组，分别接受药物治疗或安慰剂。研究结果显示，在使用安慰剂的那组中，有39％的孕妇最后早产；然而在接受药物（甲硝唑）治疗的那组中，则有62％的孕妇早产。因此，森南在研究报告里总结说：“用甲硝唑来治疗可能增加了孕妇早产的危险。”

　　报道说，甲硝唑作为一种普通抗生素已被使用了数十年之久。在英国范围内，大约会有二百分之一的孕妇会被给予这种药物来治疗细菌性阴道炎，这种疾病如不及时加以治疗则可能引发孕妇早产。对此，研究人员表示，在一些较为严重的情况下，可以使用甲硝唑予以治疗，但不应将其作为一种预防早产的药物推荐给孕妇。

　　这一研究成果被发表在新一期的《英国妇产科杂志》上。

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