Cell-free Fetal DNA — A Trigger for Parturition

Despite the importance of timing in parturition, little is known about its triggers. Emerging evidence supports an influential role for the level of cell-free fetal DNA. For decades, researchers have unsuccessfully sought to understand the mechanisms underlying the onset of parturition. The apparent variation in mechanisms between other mammals and humans has further confounded these efforts. And yet, it does not make sense that an event so essential for successful reproduction and the propagation of evolutionarily related species would have radically diverged in signaling mechanisms. Multiple lines of evidence now suggest that an inflammatory process is involved in triggering parturition, a process that is modulated and influenced by maternal, fetal, and placental endocrine events. However, another important factor may be cell-free fetal DNA. In 1998, Lo . . .