ADVERTISEMENT Women's gut health may affect their risk of preterm birth, new research suggests. Preterm birth can have many causes and risk factors, and researchers in China may have identified another one: the common gut bacterium Clostridium innocuum, or C. innocuum. The bacterium produces an enzyme capable of degrading estradiol, an essential hormone for sustaining pregnancy – and in the study, women with C. innocuum present in their guts were at higher risk of giving birth early. The study