Hormone may be key to premature births

by Olivia Fens Copyright © 2009
A saliva test may be able to identify pregnant women at risk of going into premature delivery, according to new research.Researchers from University College London and King’s College London in the UK have found that women who go into preterm labour (before 34 weeks gestation) have low-levels of progesterone in their saliva as early as 24 weeks.Furthermore, these levels fail to rise during pregnancy in the normal way. This, the researchers say, offers the possibility of developing a simple, non-invasive test to identify women at increased risk of delivering early.Progesterone is a hormone that helps to regulate the menstrual cycle, but it is also the primary hormone of pregnancy. It is produced in large amounts from the placenta and acts to stop the womb from contracting.
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