Active clinical trials for "Premature Birth"

Preterm infants are vulnerable to brain injury, nutritional deficiencies and poor early growth which places them at increased risk for developmental problems later in life. The micronutrient carnitine, which is present in breast milk and stored in the fetus late in pregnancy, has been shown to protect against brain injury in animal studies. Without supplementation, almost all preterm infants develop carnitine deficiency soon after birth. Thus it is important to determine if carnitine supplementation protects against brain injury and improves developmental outcomes in these vulnerable preterm infants. We hypothesize that preterm infants supplemented early with L-carnitine while receiving parenteral nutrition will not develop carnitine deficiency and will have improved growth in the first two weeks of life and higher scores on developmental tests when compared to control infants who did not receive carnitine.

The purpose of this study is to determine if buccal administration of a concentrated formulation of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) can help to maintain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants.

The investigators propose a preventive strategy that may reduce the risk of placental vascular disease and its negative consequences for both the fetus (e.g., poor fetal growth or stillbirth)and mother (e.g., the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy), and which, in turn, should reduce the need for indicated preterm delivery. This strategy is a multicenter, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (RCT) comparing magnesium citrate supplementation with placebo, each starting at 12 to 20 weeks gestation and continued until delivery. Magnesium citrate is a safe and inexpensive compound that is easily absorbed by the intestinal tract. The results of this RCT may be especially relevant in low and middle income countries that have high rates of prematurity, and limited resources for acute newborn and maternal care.

PNEUMOSTEM® consists of ex vivo cultured allogeneic, unrelated, human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) and it is intended for use as a cellular therapy product for prevention of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD). This study is an open-label, single-center, dose escalation study to evaluate of safety and efficacy of PNEUMOSTEM® in premature infants at high risk for BPD.

Assess the efficacy of 2 Cervical Pessaries containing 6.3 g and 7.7 g micronized progesterone for the prevention of preterm delivery, established through spontaneous birth before gestation weeks 32 (31 weeks and 6 days) and 34 (33 weeks and 6 days), when the pessary is inserted during weeks 16th and 24th and removed at 36 weeks and 6 days in pregnant women at high risk of premature birth.

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the relative efficacy of topical lidocaine on reducing pain associated with the application of nasal CPAP in preterm infants

Miscarriages and preterm births are common and serious events affecting women, families, and healthcare systems on many levels. One of the risk factors for miscarriage and preterm birth is bleeding in the first trimester of pregnancy. Progesterone, a hormone that plays a key role during pregnancy, has been proposed as a possible medication to be used in pregnancy to prevent miscarriage and preterm birth among women who have bleeding in their first trimester of pregnancy. Unfortunately, unless sound clinical evidence is obtained through a clinical trial, whether or not progesterone can indeed prevent miscarriage and preterm birth remains uncertain and thus is not a recommended treatment in women with early pregnancy bleeding. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the effect of progesterone for the prevention of miscarriage and preterm birth among women with early pregnancy bleeding. We will carry out a clinical trial in which 850 women will be randomized to receive either progesterone supplementation (425 women) or a similarly appearing placebo (425 women) and the outcome of their pregnancy will be compared.

The overall aim of the PregMet 2 Study is to investigate whether metformin prevents late miscarriages and preterm deliveries in PCOS women treated with metformin from first trimester of pregnancy to delivery in a large, randomized, controlled, multi-centre trial setting. The investigators hypothesis is that metformin compared to placebo treatment from the first trimester to term, reduces the prevalence of late miscarriage (gestational week 13-22) and preterm birth (gestational week < 37) in PCOS women diagnosed according to Rotterdam 2003 consensus criteria, with singleton pregnancy.

The investigators sought to determine whether the incidence of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in preterm fetuses is similar with 12- vs 24-hour dosing interval of dexamethasone.

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the use of both sonographic cervical length (CL) and fetal fibronectin (FFN) on the length of outpatient triage and preterm labor interventions in symptomatic women with intact membranes. We performed a randomized trial of the use of transvaginal ultrasound cervical length and fetal fibronectin in women being evaluated for suspected PTL at a gestational age between 24 and 33 weeks 6 days. Women are randomized to either a standard (blinded) or a protocol arm. Women in the standard arm are evaluated without the results of the CL and FFN while women in the protocol arm are evaluated using the results of the CL and FFN and managing physicians are asked to follow a specific PTL algorithm to determine a women's eligibility for treatment. The primary outcome is length of stay in the triage area before discharge.