Worldwide use of progesterone therapy to avoid premature birth useless

Treatment has neither positive nor negative effects on neonatal health
A worldwide therapy that should protect our newborns could be ineffective. This conclusion came now British researchers who dealt with the so-called progesterone therapy, which is to prevent premature birth. The treatment is safe for mother and child, but has no significant benefit, the researchers concluded.

The globally widespread premature birth therapy does not seem to have any significant positive effects. While there is no danger to the expectant mother or her child, the researchers at the Tommy's Center for Maternal and Fetal Health found in their study that the treatment did not achieve the results for which it was originally designed , The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "The Lancet".

Early births are associated with significant risks to the baby, which is why special treatments during pregnancy should prevent premature birth. But the applied here progesterone therapy has no effect. (Image: GordonGrand / fotolia.com)

Therapy should actually prevent premature birth, but has no benefit
Premature birth can cause many dangers for the child. Thus, parents and medics try to avoid premature births in order to protect expectant mothers and their children. One therapy that is widely used around the world to prevent premature delivery is progesterone therapy, which does not appear to provide significant benefits, say experts at the Tommy's Center for Maternal and Fetal Health at the University of Edinburgh. The treatment is recommended to women in the UK, other European countries and the US to prevent premature birth. The therapy is safe for mothers and children, but reviewing the research shows that it seems to be ineffective, the experts explain.

Study on more than 1,200 subjects for premature birth therapy
The study took place between February 2009 and April 2013 and involved the study of more than 1,200 women. More than 64 clinics from across the UK participated in the study. The results show that efforts need to be doubled to find alternative interventions in premature births, explain the physicians. Older studies have come to the conclusion that progesterone therapy can prevent premature birth in pregnant women. However, little was known about its long-term effects, say the researchers.

Progesterone therapy has no significant benefit
The new study is the largest study examining the effects of progesterone treatment on expectant mothers. It is also the first study to evaluate the effects of progesterone in infants after therapy. Researchers focused on women who were at increased risk of premature birth. Either because they have ever had a premature birth or because they had previously lost a baby during pregnancy. About half of the subjects were given a placebo pill and the remaining women received progesterone. The team found that progesterone has no negative effects on mother and baby during therapy. However, the treatment does not reduce the risk of premature birth and otherwise offered no significant benefit to the health of the mother or child, the doctors say.

New strategies to avoid prematurity required
For the doctors and women who still use progesterone as a prophylactic against premature birth, the new data can also provide reassurance. The hormone seems to be safe and has no negative effects, at least in children who are at most two years old, explain the experts. However, babies born prematurely have a much greater risk of short-term and long-term health problems. Therefore, urgent new strategies need to be developed to help mothers avoid premature birth, say the physicians at the University of Edinburgh. (As)