or premature, labor. A normal pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks after the first day of the last period (38 weeks after fertilization). The danger of preterm labor is that it will lead to the birth of ...

Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following signs of preterm labor: Four contractions every 20 minutes, or regular or frequent contractions or uterine tightening. A change in ...

Preterm births—before 37 weeks—pose health risks for babies and emotional strain on families. Experts explain causes like ...

Infants are born preterm following spontaneous labor with intact membranes (45% of cases), preterm membrane rupture (30%) and after labor induction or cesarean delivery for maternal or fetal ...

Doctors call this type of birth a “preterm birth.” But most women know it as giving birth to a “preemie.” Some babies are delivered prematurely because the mother or baby have medical problems that ...

Preterm labor and birth—or giving birth to a preemie—isn’t well understood. Because doctors don’t fully understand why it happens, there are few reliable ways to completely predict it or prevent it.

Endocrine therapy alone in so-called habitual abortion and repetitive premature labor has not provided the complete answer, but more encouraging results are being reported when it is combined with ...