A revolutionary new test developed in Britain can predict whether a woman will give birth prematurely within a matter of minutes, doctors say. Researchers have developed the early-warning system, which can warn an expectant mother that she is about to have a baby in just 10 minutes. Medical experts have hailed the test, developed at one of London’s leading hospitals, which will replace an existing, but less accurate, test across the NHS. They say it could stop thousands of women from having unnecessary treatment as the current test takes about 23 minutes.
Figures show that about one in 13 babies are born prematurely every year at a cost to the health system of almost £1 billion. The early-warning system, developed by researchers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, London, with funding Tommy’s, the baby charity, measures a pregnancy protein.
It uses a cervical swab in women who start contractions weeks before they are due. High readings are said to mean a woman’s chances of having a premature baby in the next fortnight are doubled. But women with low readings can be safely sent home as having had a false alarm, the Daily Mail reported. The swab is said to measure the level of a protein known as foetal fibronectin (fFN), which should appear at 22 weeks and again at the end of pregnancy. If it appears between these dates and a woman experiences early contractions, it suggests an early labour is imminent. In the trials, 75 per cent of women with high readings gave birth before 34 weeks of pregnancy – at least six weeks early. Guy’s is the first hospital to use the test but the updated equipment has been installed in at least 133 other NHS hospitals. Experts estimate 4,000 women a year are transferred to hospitals with specialist neonatal units because the existing test suggests they will give birth early. In the UK at least 60,000 babies are born prematurely each year, resulting in around 1,200 infant deaths. Jane Brewin, the chief executive of Tommy’s, told the newspaper: “Premature birth affects a huge number of families each year and can have devastating consequences for many families.”
