Background: There are strong evidences suggesting the secretion of different cytokines in cervical fluid during preterm labor. Betamethasone is widely administered for several reasons in preterm conditions. Objective: To Investigate the possible effect of betamethasone on endocervical cytokine concentration of women at risk of preterm labor. Methods: In a randomized clinical trial of 80 prime-g...

BACKGROUND Prematurity is the most common cause of neonatal death. Risk factors of premature birth can be related with ethnicity and genetic. There is no comprehensive high sample size study in Kurdish ethnicity to determine risk factors related to prematurity. This study evaluated risk factors of preterm labor in Kurdish ethnicity. METHODS This case-control study was conducted in 200 preterm...

METHOD(S) : In this prospective cohort study conducted over a 8 months period (January to August 2005) 416 antenatal women admitted with threatened preterm labor and in preterm labor, with or without rupture of membranes, were recruited. They were followed up from admission till delivery and discharge. Gestational age at onset of preterm labor, associated risk factors, response to tocolytics if...

BACKGROUND Spontaneous preterm labor is one of the common obstetrics problems causing several physical, psychological and economical outcomes. Although due to these outcomes and the efficacy of cares for decreasing them, preterm labor screening is cost-effective and it is still one of the challenging issues in obstetrics. OBJECTIVE In this study preterm labor screening by using cervical trans...

BACKGROUND Traditional methods used for prediction of preterm delivery are subjective and inaccurate. The Electrohysterogram (EHG) and in particular the estimation of the EHG conduction velocity, is a relatively new promising method for detecting imminent preterm delivery. To date the analysis of the conduction velocity has relied on visual inspection of the signals. As a next step towards the ...

Objective Preterm labor is a common health problem with has very serious adverse effects and burden of cost. Early diagnosis of preterm labor may be useful for prevention of its adverse effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), ferritin, and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in amniotic fluid in the second trimester of pregnant women for predicting preter...

Urogenital infections are extremely prevalent during pregnancy and are an important cause of premature labor. However, the prevalence of urogenital infections during childbirth is not well known. Objective. Identify urogenital infections present at the beginning of labor in both full-term and preterm pregnancies. Study Design. Ninety-four women were admitted to the inpatient maternity clinic of...

Cervical ripening is necessary for successful delivery. Since cytokines are believed to be involved in this process, the aim of this study was to investigate possible changes in the mRNA and protein expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-12, IL-18) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IL-13) in the human cervix during pregnancy, term and preterm...

Background & Aims: Preterm labor is often resulted in preterm births and increased rate of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Treatment consists of bedrest, hydration, pharmacologic interventions, and combinations of these. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of intravenous magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) and indomethacin in the treatment of preterm labor pains. Neonatal and maternal...