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The aetiology of preterm labour
Author(s) -
WHITE DAVID R.,
HALL MARION H.,
CAMPBELL DORIS M.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1986.tb08060.x
Subject(s) - singleton , obstetrics , preterm labour , gestation , etiology , premature rupture of membranes , medicine , rupture of membranes , pregnancy , biology , genetics
Summary. Factors associated with spontaneous preterm birth were analysed in 254 primigravidae who gave birth to singleton infants between 28 and 36 completed weeks gestation in Aberdeen City District between 1978 and 1982. In 144 women labour followed premature rupture of the membranes and in 110 the membranes were intact and labour began with contractions. Among those with intact membranes, unmarried women and teenagers were over represented to a significant extent compared with all primigravidae. Among those with premature rupture of the membranes, the distribution of age and marital state was similar to that in all primigravidae, but the birthweight centile distribution showed a significant shift towards light‐for‐dates babies. It is argued that there may be two distinct categories of pregnancies that end in spontaneous preterm labour.