Threatened and Actual Preterm Labor (Content last reviewed: 14th December 2020)

Chapter 56 - Threatened and Actual Preterm Labor (Content last reviewed: 14th December 2020)

from Section 6 - Late Prenatal – Obstetric Problems

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 November 2017

Natasha L. Hezelgrave and

Edited by

Bernard Gonik and

David James: Affiliation:
University of Nottingham
Philip Steer: Affiliation:
Imperial College London
Carl Weiner: Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Bernard Gonik: Affiliation:
Wayne State University, Detroit
Stephen Robson: Affiliation:
University of Newcastle

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Summary

Despite the long-term focus on its prevention, preterm birth remains the leading cause of neonatal death, and the second leading cause of under-5 mortality, after pneumonia, worldwide. Of those babies who survive, many have severe long-term physical and neurodevelopmental morbidity. Management options for pregnant women with threatened preterm birth focus on delaying delivery using tocolysis, and administering antenatal therapy such as corticosteroids and, more recently, magnesium sulfate (for fetal lung development and neuroprotection respectively) to improve outcome for the infant once born. Given that most women who present with preterm contractions do not go on to deliver preterm infants, the challenge is to identify the appropriate recipients of these therapies.

Type: Chapter
Information: High-Risk Pregnancy
Management Options
, pp. 1623 - 1653

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108349185 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

First published in: 2017

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