22-35 Weeks of Pregnancy
Click on a question to take you to the answer.
What is a Premature Birth Screening?
Are there any other reasons for having a Premature Birth Screening?
Why is avoiding Premature Labour and Premature Birth so important?
What are the signs of Early Labour?
What happens during a Premature Birth Screening?
Why is a Consultation necessary?
Why is a Cervical Scan performed?
What is a Fibronectin Test?
How accurate is a Premature Birth Screening?
What happens if my Premature Birth Screening is positive?
When should I have a Premature Birth Screening?
Anything else I should know about the Premature Birth Screening?
How do I book a Premature Birth Screening?
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What is a Premature Birth Screening?
A Premature Birth Screening or Preterm Labour Test is a series of tests that when the results are combined are capable of telling which women are more likely to go into early labour.
You may be at more risk of early labour if:
- You have delivered a preterm baby in the past
- You have had an operation on your cervix
- You are having more than one baby
Any woman can have a premature birth regardless of history, past gynaecological history or the number of babies being carried.
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Are there any other reasons for having a Premature Birth Screening?
- You may be experiencing contractions which seem like labour but do not progress
- You
may wish to travel for business, pleasure or family reasons during
pregnancy but would not wish to have a delivery away from home
- Your partner may wish to travel for business reasons but would not do so if he feels you may deliver while he is away
Of course you do not need a reason and may have a Premature Birth Screening just because you want to.
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Why is avoiding Premature Labour and Premature Birth so important?
Avoiding Premature Birth is important because premature babies are less able to cope with the demands of life outside the womb.
Around 6 - 10% of babies in the UK are born premature and 75% of babies who die in the newborn period do so because of premature birth.
Prematurity is the main reason for admissions to neonatal intensive care units and is the leading cause of damage in newborn babies.
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What are the signs of Early Labour?
The signs of Early Labour that may lead to Premature Birth are:
- A tightening or cramping pain that occurs every 10 minutes or more frequently
- Bleeding combined with a pink mucous discharge
- Back or pelvic pain which feels like a downward pressure from your baby
Every pregnancy is different. Your Consultant or Midwife will not mind if you contact them to discuss what you are feeling.
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What are the risks of the Premature Birth Screening?
There is no risk to mother or baby.
The test can be repeated every two weeks to monitor the possibility of Early Labour.
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What happens during a Premature Birth Screening?
During this appointment our Fetal Medicine Specialist will:
- Analyse your previous medical and pregnancy history
- Discuss the possible outcome of the screening
- Perform an ultrasound assessment of your cervix
- Take a vaginal swab for fetal Fibronectin
- Issue you with a detailed report from our Viewpoint Maternal and Fetal Database
- Discuss the findings with you
- Forward the report on to your Obstetrician or Midwife
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Why is a Consultation necessary?
Predicting when a pregnant woman will go into early labour early is a complex process and some details in your medical history may provide additional information for the Consultant.
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Why is a Cervical Scan performed?
A Cervical Scan is performed to measure the length of the cervix.
Research has shown that if the cervical length shortens the risk of premature birth increases significantly.
An internal ultrasound scan can accurately measure cervical length to better estimate the chance of early labour.
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What is a Fibronectin Test?
A Fibronectin Test looks for the presence of a substance called fetal fibronectin in middle pregnancy.
If fibronectin is present the chance of going into early labour rises.
If fibronectin is not present the chance of early labour lessens significantly.
More information on the Fibronectin Test can be found on this website
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How accurate is a Premature Birth Screening?
Premature Birth Screening is a relatively new science so there is insufficient data to publish a percentage accuracy figure.
However Premature Birth Screening is better at identifying those women who will not go into early labour than those who will.
Should you test screen negative you should be very reassured that early labour is not likely to begin in the 2 weeks after testing.
Should you test screen positive the result is quite a good indicator that you may go into early labour in the 2 weeks after testing.
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What happens if my Premature Birth Screening is positive?
Depending on the outcome of the Premature Birth Screening your Obstetrician or Midwife may decide to:
- Admit you to hospital
- Prescribe therapeutic steroid injections to help your baby prepare for premature birth
- Transfer your birth to a specialist hospital if existing facilities are not adequate to care for premature babies
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When should I have a Premature Birth Screening?
A Premature Birth Screening can only be performed between 22 and 35 weeks of pregnancy.
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Anything else I should know about the Premature Birth Screening?
As the name suggests a Premature Birth Screening is not a diagnostic test.
The test tries to identify low risk from high risk women but it cannot guarantee that you will not go into Early Labour.
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How do I book a Premature Birth Screening?
For prices and to make a booking please see our online booking website.
Other terms to describe this service you might be familiar with:
- Preterm Labour Screening
- Preterm Birth Screening
- Early Labour Assessment
- Early Labour Prediction
- PTBS (Pre Term Birth Screening)
- Premature Baby Prediction
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