Premature labor: An at-home test for at risk moms

Having contractions prematurely is a very scary experience for most moms. This is true whether it is your first or fifth baby. Moms frequently want to know “Is this serious?” “Am I going into labor?” “Will my baby be born too early?”

Premature birth can be costly and dangerous for the baby, though over the past decade survival rates for preemies have vastly improved. Even with improved survival of these babies, there is still the risk of potential long-term side-effects.

All of this makes for an extremely stressful time for families. And while babies born with immediate access to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have a good rate of survival worldwide, million upon millions of premature births still occur each year. Many moms, especially those in rural areas, or living outside easy access to large hospitals, would benefit from knowing if they should be preparing for an early birth or not.

Imagine a test as easy as a home pregnancy test, to help determine if you are at risk of going into premature labor? University of Washington researchers are hoping to develop just that.

Premature labor and at-home testing

They are studying one of the primary causes of preterm births – bacterial infections. A recent article from KomoNews.com unveils the researchers, using “…a $1.4 million grant from Seattle Children’s Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth, are working to identify which vaginal bacterial  patterns are associated with preterm births and develop a test to identify those bacteria among pregnant women.”

Many of these bacteria cause no symptoms to the mother and she may not realize they are even there. According to Dr. Kristina Waldorf, a lead researcher on the project, “… about half of early preterm births can be linked to infection or inflammation,” she explained, “…changes in vaginal bacteria can disrupt the immune system and allow bacteria to invade amniotic fluid and the fetus, leading to preterm labor.”

While planning to study African and South Asian women with healthy pregnancies, as well as those delivering preterm, Waldorf reveals, “We are hoping to discover certain signatures in the microbiome that would predict a preterm birth well in advance and allow for treatment to prevent it.”

Once the bacteria are isolated, they plan on developing an easy, affordable ‘stick style’ test that women all over the world can use to better predict whether they’re at risk, and ultimately to better help those premature babies get the best care possible when they enter the world. And that is a very good thing.