VOLUME 92, NO. 5 Although there has been progress in reducing the impact of most disease processes that contribute to infant morbidity and mortality, there has been no significant reduction in the incidence of preterm birth in the past 25 years. Preterm birth, defined as any delivery that occurs before 37 weeks gestation, remains the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality, representi...

Methods This was a secondary analysis of data from a population-based prospective cohort study in 13 counties of East China (1993–96). All singleton live births delivered at 20–44 weeks to women with at least one haemoglobin measure during pregnancy were included (n1⁄4 160 700). Risk of preterm birth (<37 weeks) was examined by clinical subtypes, namely, preterm premature rupture of membranes (...

The problem Unfortunately there are too many examples in obstetrics of very important conditions for which there is no consensus of professional opinion about definition, diagnosis, risks, and above all, management. Preterm prelabour rupture of the membranes (PPROM) is such a case. The best, most widely used, and simplest definition of PPROM is membrane rupture occurring before the onset of reg...

Current therapies for preterm labour (PTL) focus on arresting myometrial contractions but are largely ineffective, thus alternative therapeutic targets need to be identified. Leukocytes infiltrate the uterus around the time of labour, and are in particularly abundant in decidua (maternal-fetal interface). Moreover, decidual inflammation precedes labour in rat pregnancies and thus may contribute...

This was a retrospective study conducted to study the newborns weigth less than 2500gm delivered in Nepal medical college in the year 2005 and 2006. The cases were studied to find out the incidence and relation of maternal age, parity, gestational age, sex, etiological factors, mode of deliveries with Low Birth Weight (LBW) babies. There were 172 patients with LBW babies out of 1517 patient. In...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of a bedside test kit for phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) in the diagnosis of preterm labour and the prediction of subsequent preterm delivery. MATERIALS AND METHODS We performed a bedside test for IGFBP-1 in 47 women who presented to the delivery suite in suspected preterm labour between 23...

Globally, the rate of preterm births are increasing, thus resulting in significant health, development and economic problems. Current methods for the early detection of such births are inadequate. Nevertheless, there has been some evidence that the analysis of uterine electrical signals, collected from the abdominal surface, could provide an independent and easier way to diagnose true labour an...

BACKGROUND Magnesium sulphate has been used in some settings as a tocolytic agent to inhibit uterine activity in women in preterm labour with the aim of preventing preterm birth. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of magnesium sulphate therapy given to women in threatened preterm labour with the aim of preventing preterm birth and its sequelae. SEARCH METHODS We searched the Cochrane Pregnanc...

Preterm labour (PTL) is a leading cause of perinatal mortality and postnatal morbidity. Contractions of the uterine muscle (myometrium) that determine the onset of labour depend on the expression of contraction-associated proteins (CAPs, i.e. connexin43) regulated by dimeric AP-1 transcription factors. Here, we examined subcellular (by immunoblotting) and tissue expression (by immunohistochemis...

Since the controversies regarding the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and selective cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 antagonists for the treatment of preterm labour (PTL), more emphasis has been placed on investigating the terminal synthases involved in the production of prostaglandins (PGs) to allow more targeted therapy in PTL. Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) is synthesized by one of...