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The management of preterm labour with intact membranes
Hyaline membrane disease is a complication of preterm delivery and is a major cause of mortality and morbidity. The onset of such labour is so difficult to predict that diagnosis is often made only when labour is advanced. In practice, therefore, treatment consists of drugs which suppress uterine activity at least until concomitant steroid therapy has had time to enhance pulmonary surfactant formation; this can be determined by means of amniocentesis. If delivery of a preterm infant is inevitable, the gastric contents can be examined at birth in order to predict whether the baby will develop hyaline membrane disease and should therefore be transferred to a neonatal intensive care unit.
Hyaline membrane disease is a complication of preterm delivery and is a major cause of mortality and morbidity. The onset of such labour is so difficult to predict that diagnosis is often made only when labour is advanced. In practice, therefore, treatment consists of drugs which suppress uterine activity at least until concomitant steroid therapy has had time to enhance pulmonary surfactant formation; this can be determined by means of amniocentesis. If delivery of a preterm infant is inevitable, the gastric contents can be examined at birth in order to predict whether the baby will develop hyaline membrane disease and should therefore be transferred to a neonatal intensive care unit.