Interested in home birth, hospital birth or private midwifery care? Questions or comments? Email Melissa Maimann or call 0400 418 448.
A simple test can help reliably determine whether signs of an imminent premature delivery are likely to result in a false alarm …
Less than half of women showing these signs actually go on to give birth …
UK researchers found a test that looks for a protein called fetal fibronectin (fFN) could solve the problem.
… Women with a negative test can be reassured that they do not need inpatient care …
… when fFN is found to be leaking at a certain stage of pregnancy, a premature birth is more likely.
A test to detect fFN levels is relatively cheap and easy to perform – but it is not commonly used in all maternity units.
… If the results show low levels of fFN, then the chance of a women having a premature delivery imminently is low.
… It proved to be 98.6% accurate in identifying women who, despite showing signs of premature delivery, did not go into labour for at least another two weeks …
Melissa Maimann, Essential Birth Consulting 0400 418 448