Researchers from the University of Gutenberg have claimed to have developed a blood test that helps predict whether a pregnant woman experiencing preterm contractions is likely to give birth within seven days or not. The blood test has been said to be 75 to 80 per cent accurate. The researchers studied 142 pregnant women with early contractions sans rupturing of membranes, who came from the Sahlgrenska University Hospital during 1995-2005.
Preterm delivery or delivery before 37 full weeks of pregnancy is one of the biggest problems in the arena of perinatal medicine because it increases the risk of a child to be seriously ill in the short as well as long-term. The downside is that only about 30 per cent of women, who come in with early contractions, give birth before full-term.
Published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the study revealed that the new blood test method looks at two specific proteins in the pregnant woman’s blood along with an already established examination of the length of the cervix. Researcher Panagiotis Tsiartas said further studies will have to be done before the method can be used. He also added that if the results of the studies are good, new types of treatments will have to be done to prevent premature birth and treat its complications.
Preterm delivery or delivery before 37 full weeks of pregnancy is one of the biggest problems in the arena of perinatal medicine because it increases the risk of a child to be seriously ill in the short as well as long-term. The downside is that only about 30 per cent of women, who come in with early contractions, give birth before full-term.
Published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the study revealed that the new blood test method looks at two specific proteins in the pregnant woman’s blood along with an already established examination of the length of the cervix. Researcher Panagiotis Tsiartas said further studies will have to be done before the method can be used. He also added that if the results of the studies are good, new types of treatments will have to be done to prevent premature birth and treat its complications.
