Hormone ‘is key to identifying early preterm birth’

A study has shown that women going into early preterm labour have low levels of progesterone in their saliva.

Scientists say the discovery could offer the possibility of developing a simple, non-invasive test to identify females who are at increased risk of delivering early.

The study, which is to be published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, found women going into preterm labour have low levels of progesterone in their saliva from as early as 24 weeks into their pregnancies, with these levels failing to rise as they normally would throughout their full terms.

Professor Philip Steer, BJOG’s editor-in-chief, said: “This promising study, though small, suggests that salivary progesterone measurement could provide a useful early identification of women with an increased chance of an early premature birth.”

Researchers at the University College London and King’s College London collected specimens of saliva from 92 women taking part in an existing randomised control trial of preventative treatment for preterm birth. The women were recruited on the basis of their increased risk of having a preterm birth.

Lead author Professor Lucilla Poston, from the Maternal and Fetal Research Unit at King’s College London, said a “much larger” study to validate the findings is now planned.