LEADING ARTICLE
Preterm labour
The management of preterm labour
1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Warford General Hospital, Watford, UK
2 University of Warwick, Coventry, Warwickshire, UK
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
J Chatterjee
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Watford General Hospital, Vicarage Road, Watford, WD18 0HB, UK; jaychatt@yahoo.com
Accepted 17 July 2006
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Preterm labour is the onset of regular uterine contractions associated with progressive cervical change between viability and 37 completed weeks of gestation. The incidence is between 5% and 10% in most developed nations. In the US, the incidence has increased from 9% to 12% in the past two decades. Preterm delivery can be associated with immediate and long-term neonatal complications. Long-term morbidity includes cerebral palsy, neurodevelopmental delay and chronic lung disease. The neonatal outcome is dependent on the gestational age at delivery and associated features such as infection. The lower the gestational age, the higher the risk of mortality and morbidity. The management of preterm labour involves identification of high-risk women, prevention and treatment.
The identification of women at high risk of preterm delivery remains a major challenge. Scoring systems based on socioeconomic status, obstetric or medical history and antenatal events in the index pregnancy have shown a
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