results: Total 2105 deliveries occurred during study period and the incidence of preterm delivery in the study was 15%. Incidence of preterm labour was comparatively more among multigravida (49.5%). Out of 315 preterm labour cases, 234 (74.25%) were from low socioeconomic status. Forty-one percent preterm labors were idiopathic, 17% cases had maternalfetal complications and 15% cases had recurr...

The above quote testifies to the complexity of preterm labour, a process that ultimately results in considerable neonatal morbidity and mortality. It is diYcult to quantify the incidence of spontaneous preterm labour, as many studies relating to preterm birth do not discriminate between spontaneous preterm labour and iatrogenic/therapeutic preterm delivery. The picture is further complicated as...

Preterm labour continues to be a major contributor to neonatal and infant morbidity. Recent data from the USA indicate that the number of preterm deliveries (including those associated with preterm labour) has risen in the last 20 years by 30%. This increase is despite considerable efforts to introduce new therapies for the prevention and treatment of preterm labour and highlights the need to a...

Preterm labour and prematurity are still a main cause of perinatal morbidity nowadays. The aim of our study was to assess the role of MMP-8 as a predictive marker of preterm delivery. Four groups of patients were involved to the study: I - pregnant women at 24-34 weeks of gestation with any symptoms of threatened preterm labour; II - threatened preterm labour patients between 24-34 weeks of ges...

Predictive values of methods currently used in the clinics to diagnose preterm labour are low. This leads to missed opportunities to improve neonatal outcomes and, on the other hand, to unnecessary hospitalizations and treatments. In addition, research of new and potentially more effective preterm labour treatments is hindered by the inability to include only patients in true preterm labour int...

Saliva oestriol, oestradiol, and progesterone concentrations were measured in 23 women who went into spontaneous preterm labour. The patients fell clinically and biochemically into two groups. The 13 who went into preterm labour with intact membranes had a saliva oestriol to progesterone ratio greater than one in every case and greater than the 95th centile for their length of gestation in 12 c...

Background: Preterm birth is a major challenges faced by obstetricians worldwide. Globally, an estimated 13 million babies are born before 37 completed weeks of gestation annually. Preterm birth is the leading direct cause of neonatal death (27%); more than one million preterm newborns die annually. According to report „India is among the top 10 countries that account for 60 per cent of the wor...

INTRODUCTION This study examined whether maternal plasma progesterone and corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) concentrations can predict the likelihood of preterm labour. MATERIALS AND METHODS Maternal plasma progesterone and CRH concentrations were examined in a total of 51 women. The subject cohort included 20 women who were followed from the beginning of the third trimester (28 to 34 wee...

Pregnancy is a unique immunological state in which a balance of immune tolerance and suppression is needed to protect the fetus without compromising the mother. It has long been established that a bias from the T helper 1 cytokine profile towards the T helper 2 profile contributes towards successful pregnancy maintenance. The majority of publications that report on aberrant Th1:Th2 balance focu...

Preterm labour is defined as a birth taking place between 22nd and 37th weeks of gestation. Despite numerous studies on the aetiology and pathogenesis of preterm labour, its very cause still remains unclear. The importance of the cytokines and acute inflammation in preterm labour aetiology is nowadays well-proven. However, chronic inflammation as an element of the pathogenesis of premature labo...