When labor begins before the 37th week of pregnancy it is defined as preterm labor. In the United States about 12 percent of births (1 in 8), result in a premature baby. Many preterm babies do exceptionally well due to the advances in medicine. Sadly it is not the case for all premature babies. To accurately identify preterm labor, it is important to have an accurate date of when the pregnancy began.

Doctors are able to determine the beginning of the pregnancy by getting information from the mom regarding last date of her last period. Most pregnancies last 38-42 weeks with the due date 40 weeks after the first day of the last menstrual period. Other ways a doctor can determine the week of pregnancy a woman is in is by measurement of the uterus and by ultrasound.

Any woman can have preterm labor and many women with preterm labor will never know why it happened to them because about half the women who have preterm labor will not fall into any known risk group.

The following will put a woman at risk of having preterm labor:

• Previous preterm birth

• Expecting twins, triplets or more

• Uterine or cervical abnormalities

Types of risks that can contribute to preterm labor:

 

• Lifestyle factors-smoking, drinking alcohol, illegal drugs use, exposure to the medication DES

• Environmental factors-working long hours with long periods of standing, lack of social support, stress, domestic violence (physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse), late or no prenatal care

• Medical factors-infections, STD’s, diabetes, high blood pressure, blood clotting disorders, certain birth defects in the baby, in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancy, obesity before pregnancy, less than 6-9 months between last birth and the beginning of the next pregnancy.

Babies who are born preterm are at higher risk of needing hospitalization, having long-term health problems and of dying than babies that are born near full term. It is much better to go to the doctor’s office or hospital to find out that there is nothing to be concerned about than to brush off preterm labor symptoms as “normal” pregnancy symptoms and have a baby born prematurely because the labor was too far along to stop.

Pregnancy Complications