A major study envisioning to result in an accurat prediction test for pre-term labour is about to start in Melbourne. It is programmed to last three years and it will involve more than 3000 women.
The study will take place at the Royal Women’s Hospital and the Mercy Hospital for Women, where pregnant women are invited to take part in the Predicting Preterm Labour study – or PPeTaL. Swabs from participants will be analysed for protein “biomarkers” to check how closely those biomarkers are associated with impending labour.
“Participation in this study could ultimately save babies’ lives in the future,” Dr Di Quinzio said researcher and obstetrician Dr Megan Di Quinzio, stressing that about 10 per cent of pregnant women can experience labour at a pre- term gestation without warning.
“To reliably know of likely pre-term labour beforehand would offer so much hope because even predicting or delaying labour by a few days or weeks and thereby allowing adequate time to prepare the baby for life outside the womb can make a huge difference.”
“Every year about 15 million babies worldwide are born pre-term and more than 1 million will die, mostly in developing countries,” said Royal Women’s Hospital and University of Melbourne senior research fellow Dr Harry Georgiou, explaining how a reliable predictive test would revolutionise maternity care, making “a big difference for many pre-term babies in both the short and longer term.”