The management of preterm birth has seen major transformations in the last few decades with increasing interest worldwide, due to the impact of preterm birth on neonatal morbidity and mortality. The prevention strategies currently available for asymptomatic women at risk of preterm birth include progesterone, cervical cerclage and cervical pessary. Each approach has varying effects depending on...

OBJECTIVE To analyse preterm birth rates worldwide to assess the incidence of this public health problem, map the regional distribution of preterm births and gain insight into existing assessment strategies. METHODS Data on preterm birth rates worldwide were extracted during a previous systematic review of published and unpublished data on maternal mortality and morbidity reported between 199...

Despite current research progress, preterm birth (delivery before 37 weeks gestation) remains a significant problem in maternal-child health because of its high prevalence rate and association with severe adverse health consequences (March of Dimes, 2009; Goldenberg et al., 2000; Sibai et al., 2005; Ventura et al., 2000). Globally, an estimated 13 million babies are born preterm each year repre...

Premature birth is the world's leading cause of neonatal mortality with worldwide estimates indicating 11.1% of all live births were preterm in 2010. Preterm birth rates are increasing in most countries with continual differences in survival rates amongst rich and poor countries. Preterm birth is currently an important unresolved global issue with research efforts focusing on uterine quiescence...

Oxytocin is crucially involved in the onset and maintenance of labor. We investigated the association between oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms and preterm birth. The presence of four common oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms (rs2254298, rs53576, rs2228485 and rs237911) was evaluated in one hundred women with preterm birth and one hundred healthy women using restriction fragment length pol...

Preterm birth, a major determinant of infant mortality, has been increasing in recent years. The authors examined trends in preterm birth and its determinants by using the US birth and infant death files for 1989-1997. The impact of trends in preterm birth rates on neonatal and infant mortality was also evaluated. Among Whites, preterm births (<37 completed weeks of gestation) increased from 8....

OBJECTIVES To examine the association between occupational lifting during pregnancy and preterm birth. The risk of preterm birth was estimated for total burden lifted per day and number of medium and heavy loads lifted per day. METHODS In a study population of 62 803 pregnant women enrolled to the Danish National Birth Cohort from 1996 to 2002, the association between self-reported occupation...

BACKGROUND Recent studies show that preterm birth is associated with hypertension in later life. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) during pregnancy influences fetal growth and development. In the current study, we investigated the impact of fetal as well as maternal angiotensin (1-7) [Ang (1-7)] and angiotensin II (Ang II) plasma concentrations on the risk of preterm birth. METHODS Three hun...

Preterm birth is a major global health issue, and its causes and underlying mechanism remain obscure. We recently established a mouse model of spontaneous preterm birth. In this model, endometrial cellular senescence early in pregnancy via mTORC1-p21 signaling is a major contributor of preterm birth and fetal death, and these adverse phenotypes are restored by the inhibition of mTORC1 or p21. T...