By Alice Klein
BSIP SA / Alamy
Widespread HPV vaccination appears to have prevented thousands of premature births in Australia, and could lead to improvements in infant health worldwide.
Women who have had HPV – the human papilloma virus that causes genital warts and cervical cancer – are more at risk of having premature babies. This may be because the treatment for high-risk HPV infections involves removing affected cells from the cervix, which is effective for preventing cancer but can sometimes affect the mechanical strength of the cervix.
Australia was …
