Abstract
Several strategies to prevent preterm birth have been evaluated over the last decades, but prematurity remains frequent, even in industrialized countries. One of the major challenges in obstetrics is to reduce the neonatal morbidity and mortality associated with preterm birth, as well as its associated cost. Progesterone has been used for several decades as a prophylactic treatment to prevent preterm birth, but its efficiency and side-effects have been always questioned. More recent research has demonstrated the usefulness of this treatment in certain pregnant populations and suggests that progesterone is effective for women with a prior history of preterm birth and for those with a short cervix measured by transvaginal ultrasound at midtrimester. In women with multiple gestations, progesterone is not indicated and studies are still ongoing among women with threatened preterm labour. In this article, we reviewed the different indications for the use of progesterone to prevent preterm birth, possible formulations available, and associated economic aspects.
Keywords: Neonatology, obstetrics, progesterone, progestagens, preterm birth/delivery, preterm labour, short cervix, side effects
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
RARE CASES IN GYNECOLOGY-OBSTETRICS
With the development of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques (such as ART techniques) and the immersion of new pathologies (such as COVID19), we are witnessing an increase in the incidence of pathologies that were previously described as rare or exceptional. the practitioner sometimes confronts difficult situations in these cases in diagnostic ...read more
11