Saliva test to pick preterm risk

The discovery, researchers believe may enable ‘at risk mums’ to receive timely medical care that will aid the development of the baby's lungs, preventing disability and neonatal mortality.

The study:
92 women believed to be at increased risk of entering preterm labor were enrolled for the study.

Researchers from the University College London and King's College London tested each woman for their salivary levels of progesterone. The samples were taken between 24 weeks and 34 weeks in to the pregnancy.

While 28 women delivered prematurely, before 37 weeks’ gestation, 64 delivered birth at term, after 37 weeks.

Findings of the study:
12 of the 28 women who delivered preterm had saliva progesterone levels lower than in those delivering between 34 and 37 weeks or beyond 37 weeks, researchers found.

Also, among women who delivered before 34 weeks, the progesterone levels failed to follow the normal pregnancy trends, researchers highlighted.

Simple test:
“Saliva is easy to collect, there is no need for a needle or a blood sample and it would be wonderful if in the future we only had to ask a pregnant woman to produce a small sample of saliva to know whether or not she was at risk of very early premature birth" lead author Professor Lucilla Poston, from the Maternal and Foetal Research Unit at King's College London, said.

Researchers are now planning a much larger study to validate these preliminary findings.

Role of progesterone in pregnancy:
Though it is not clear how the progesterone influences pregnancy gestation, optimum levels are believed to relax the uterine musculature, maintain cervical length, and possess anti-inflammatory properties, thus aiding activities deemed to be beneficial in cutting the risk of a preterm birth.

The findings appear in the current issue of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.