Preterm pregnancy: discover how to avoid it
Approximately 15 million premature babies are born in the world. Delivery before time is considered before the 37th week of pregnancy and, currently, is a major health problem that has no solution yet. It is known that diabetes and some infections significantly increase the possibility that the baby is born prematurely, but it is unknown why there are so many preterm pregnancies.
Medicine advances in many fields and now, for the first time, in relation to preterm pregnancies a light can be glimpsed. US researchers have identified the physiological mechanism that initiates contractions prior to delivery and believe that if it is blocked, you can postpone delivery and prolong pregnancy even to the end.
What is a preterm pregnancy?
Babies grow in the mother's womb only while the uterus remains still. At the moment when it begins to contract, the child stops growing and the body of the mother prepares for childbirth. If this happens before the 37 weeks of gestation have been reached, it is said that the pregnancy is preterm while it has not reached term (it has not reached the end). Therefore, the baby is a premature child and must remain in the incubator. Why? Because he has not matured enough to be able to live without depending directly on his mother.
What exactly have researchers discovered about preterm pregnancy?
- They confirmed ... what was already known a few years ago. That one of the key changes, which indicate that labor is about to begin, occurs in the myometrium, which is the thick muscular wall of the uterus. Why? Because when the delivery is going to arrive, the cells of the myometrium fill with calcium ions, which are what cause the contractions.
- They asked themselves ... what if the pathways through which these calcium ions reach the myometrium are blocked?
- But not all the tracks were equally sensitive to blocking and the efficacy to prolong labor was limited. They searched a little more ...
- They met ... with a way that turned out to be the perfect candidate. The TRPV4, because it is susceptible to changes in temperature, volume and stretching. They made ... a drug that interrupts the movement of calcium ions in our body. But they could not make it only affect the uterus.
- They tested the drug ... in rodents. And the answer to the question of whether the delivery can be prolonged was affirmative.
What remains to be done to know if preterm pregnancy can be avoided?
Much still. Keep in mind that the tests have been done only in rodents. In addition, calcium is necessary for the proper functioning of our body and we still do not know what happens if we block its way. It is found in the lungs and the brain, and if blocking its passage to the myometrium, we do not reach these other organs? What consequences could it have? Could we make the drug affect only the uterus? This would be the solution! Tests are already being done, but we will have to wait a little longer.
Difficulties arising from a preterm pregnancy
- Nearly one million premature children die before reaching the age of five due to causes associated with its delivery
- Of those who survive, many have to face some disability
- Many suffer from hearing or visual problems in adulthood
- Premature babies may have difficulties for the knowledge
Elisa García
Pregnancy calendar week to week
Click on each petal or circle to see the content of your week or trimester of pregnancy respectively.
