Preterm Labor: Evaluation by Obstetrician Health Article

Most preterm deliveries come as a surprise, but your obstetrician can make some estimates of your risk based on you past pregnancy history. If you've had problems in other pregnancies, that information may help your doctor interpret lab test that predict preterm labor. For example, one study of more than 1,600 women with preterm labor compared two groups of women with positive fetal fibronectin tests at 24 weeks of pregnancy. Those women who had not delivered early in the past had a 10% chance of delivering before their 35th week of pregnancy, and those women who had previously delivered early had a 40% chance of delivering before their 35th week.

Your doctor may ask some of the following questions to learn about your past pregnancies and help determine your risk for preterm delivery.

• Have you had any complications with past pregnancies?
• Were you ever told to stay in bed during a past pregnancy?
• Have you ever had preterm labor before? Do you know why?
• Have you ever delivered early before? Do you know why?
• If you have delivered early before, how many weeks pregnant were you?
• If you have delivered early before, have you had a full-term pregnancy since then?
• Have you had an abortion? If so, how many? How many weeks pregnant were you at the time of each abortion?

Your doctor may also order screening tests to better assess your risk. For more information, go to Preterm Labor: First-Level Tests.