What causes labour in women?
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Transcript of What causes labour in women?
What causes labour in women?
Can we predict it?
Professor A López BernalUniversity of Bristol
Department of Clinical Sciences at South Bristol
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Weeks of gestation
Survival
Disability
The horizontal bars represent the mean and the vertical bars represent 95% C.I. Morrison & Rennie, 1997 Br J Obstet Gynaecol 104, 1341-1350.Marlow et al. 2005. N Eng J Med; 352: 9-19
Preterm birth remains the major cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity
Signals for the physiological onset of labourPathophysiology of preterm labour?
Maternal compartment
Fetal blood
Amniotic fluid
Choriodecidua interface
Cervical secretions
Myometrium
A López Bernal
Control Isoproterenol
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Identification of labour associated proteins in the human uterus
Term Preterm
A López Bernal
Signalling pathways that regulate contractility
Calcium waves in human myometrial cells
A López Bernal
Further research into factors controlling the onset of labour is essential
We need to improve the management of preterm labour to decrease neonatal mortality and morbidity
Search for biomarkers to predict labour