quick clicks

pregnancy today articles

pregnancy today q&a

message boards

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

New Hope for Expectant Moms

Promising Treatment May Help Prevent Premature Delivery

By Jennifer Lacey

A committee formed by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued an opinion in the fall of 2003 that the hormone progesterone may be used as treatment to help prevent preterm birth but should be restricted to pregnant women with a documented history of preterm birth before 37 weeks gestation. However, a recent study published in the February 2005 edition of the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology found that nearly two percent (or an estimated 10,000 preterm births) annually could have been prevented in 2002 if all pregnant women at high risk for a premature baby and eligible for weekly injections of the derivative of the hormone progesterone (17 alphahydroxyprogesterone caproate, or commonly referred to as "17P") received the treatment.

The researchers state that women who are considered qualified to receive 17P treatment must have a history of preterm birth, be carrying one baby and must have received prenatal care with the first four months of pregnancy, which is usually when the therapy is started. Researchers from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the March of Dimes analyzed national birth certificate data in that year and estimated that approximately 30,000 recurrent preterm births occurred to pregnant women in the United States who would have been considered eligible for the treatment.

"In our clinical practice, this treatment has been initiated with favorable results," says Dr. Poggi. "It is well tolerated by patients, and I have had two cases where the women had a prior extremely early premature delivery at 24 weeks where with the drug they were able to carry to 32 weeks. Although that is still considered a preterm delivery, there was a huge change in the health of the baby."

The ACOG committee opinion from 2003 concluded that despite the benefit of this form of progesterone therapy in a specific group of high-risk women, more research should be required to determine if women with other high-risk factors, including those carrying multiples, could benefit from treatment with progesterone.

Want to see more?

• The Induction Debate: The Pros and Cons of Inducing Labor
• Pregnant and Diabetic: How will Diabetes Affect Your Pregnancy?
• Polyhydramnios: Too Much Amniotic Fluid
• Talk about it!