Preterm birth may be prevented with a few proven treatments, experts say

In an article published in The Lancet to coincide with the second annual World Prematurity Day, the expert group says prevention of preterm birth also could save billions in economic costs.

"Governments and health professionals in these 39 countries need to know that wider use of proven interventions can help more women have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies," says lead author Hannah H. Chang, M.D., PhD, a consultant for The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). "A 5 percent reduction in the preterm birth rate is an important first step."

"The preterm birth rate in the U.S. currently is on the decline, but for this trend to continue, it's critical that high-resource countries such as ours focus vigorously on prevention," says Christopher Howson, PhD, vice president of Global Programs for the March of Dimes, a co-author.

The authors of The Lancet article say that five proven interventions, when combined, would lower the preterm rate across 39 countries from an average 9.6 percent of live births to 9.1 percent, and save about $3 billion in health and economic costs:

• eliminating early cesarean deliveries and inductions of labor unless medically necessary;

• decreasing multiple embryo transfers during assisted reproductive technologies;

• helping women quit smoking;

• providing progesterone supplementation to women with high risk pregnancies;

• cervical cerclage for high-risk women with short cervix.

"The means to reduce the risk of preterm birth by 5 percent are already available," says Catherine Y. Spong, M.D., Associate Director for Extramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "Continued research into the causes of preterm birth has the potential to reduce the proportion of infants born preterm even further."

Preterm birth, birth before 37 weeks completed gestation, is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive an early birth often face a lifetime of health challenges, including breathing problems, cerebral palsy, motor and intellectual disabilities and others.