Pregnant women and their partners are to have access to new and undated information on premature labour.
The new Patient Information leaflets, out yesterday (29 October), are written by experts at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, UK, and cover the risk of premature labour and cervical suture which can reduce the risk.
About 8% of babies are born before 37 weeks’ gestation. But the rate of very premature birth – between 22 and 28 weeks’ gestation – is under 1%. It carries a risk of immediate health issues such as problems breathing, feeding and infection. Many early babies need to stay in neonatal units for a period of time, although only a fraction of children have serious long-term disabilities.
Risk factors for premature birth include previous premature birth or late miscarriage, early rupture of the embryonic sac, vaginal bleeding after 14 weeks’ gestation, multiple birth and smoking.
Steps can be taken to reduce the risk, and the leaflet tells women what they can do if they appear to be going into labour early, as well as what to expect of they are admitted to hospital. One measure that can be taken is a cervical suture, in which a stitch is placed around the cervix, normally done is the mother is at 12 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Sometimes a woman may not actually be in premature labour, and after a period of observation will usually be able to go home, says Philippa Marsden of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
"If women have any concerns they should talk to their doctor or midwife who will be happy to discuss anything and give you information about support groups that may be helpful," she adds.
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