Review
Management of preterm labour
Sarah Vause, Tracey Johnston
Fetomaternal
Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, Hathersage Road, Manchester M13
0JH, UK
Correspondence to: Dr Vause email: adavies@care.cmht.nwest.nhs.uk
Accepted 17 May 2000
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
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Introduction |
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"The aetiology of preterm labour remains unknown, prediction lacks specificity, prophylaxis is unhelpful, diagnosis is difficult and the benefits and risks of tocolytic therapy are still being debated"1
The above quote testifies to the complexity of preterm labour,
a process that ultimately results in considerable neonatal morbidity
and mortality. It is difficult 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 many studies report their results by birth weight rather
than gestation. However, it has been estimated that the incidence of
preterm delivery varies from 5% to 10% of all births in developed
countries, and that spontaneous preterm labour in otherwise
uncomplicated singleton pregnancies accounts for between one third and
one half of all preterm deliveries.2 3 In 1997, in
England and Wales, 50.3% of all neonatal deaths
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