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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Children born prematurely can come into the world with a host of problems, which is why scientists are working hard to find new ways to combat premature birth. Weekly injections of progesterone have been shown to prevent premature births in women carrying a single child, but a recent study reveals these injections won't decrease a woman's chances of giving birth to twins prematurely.
Previous studies suggested administering injections of 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, or 17-OHPC, to women with a history of premature birth can decrease the chances of another premature birth by 33 percent.
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"We were hopeful that [17-OHPC] would also prevent preterm birth in twin pregnancies, which represents an intermediate level of risk," John Thorp, M.D., a study co-author and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, was quoted as saying.
To find out whether 17-OPHC would also be beneficial to women carrying multiples, researchers studied 655 women carrying twins who had no history of preterm pregnancy. Half the women were given weekly injections of 17-OHPC, and the other half were given a placebo. Researchers were surprised to find there was no significant difference between the women who received 17-OHPC and those who received the placebo. Their findings led them to conclude administering 17-OHPC to women pregnant with twins will not decrease their chances of giving birth to preemies.
Dr. Thorp reported more research is necessary to reveal the underlying mechanisms of preterm birth in women carrying twins. Another question Dr. Thorp hopes to answer throughout the course of his research is whether injections are really the best way for women to receive 17-OHPC, or if vaginal suppositories taken daily would be a more effective method of preventing premature birth.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine; 2007, 357: 454-461
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