Active clinical trials for "Premature Birth"

Objective: This trial would evaluate the clinical effectiveness of Progesterone(P) and 17-hydroxy Progesterone (17P) in reducing PTD, in symptomatic women at risk because of cervical shortening, in the present pregnancy. Main outcome: Delivery before 37 weeks. Secondary outcomes: Gestational age at delivery, Delivery <32, <35 wks, hospital admissions before delivery, birth-weight centile, NICU admission, days of NICU admission, days of oxygen supply, composite neonatal complications, congenital neonatal malformations and anomalies. Allocated treatments will be: Group A: 17P 341 mg i.m./weekly (Lentogest, AMSA, Italy); Group B: micronized P 200 mg per vagina /day (Utrogestan, Besins Healthcare, Belgium) Group C: no treatment, clinical observation Concomitant treatments: Iron and folic acid supplementation, and Betamethasone (12 mg repeated once 24 hours apart) will be permitted. Is not allowed the treatment with tocolytics per os. Any treatment will be recorded. Duration: The period of enrollment is 15 months. Cases not randomized by a clinical unit will be competitively assigned later. Results are expected 20-24 months from starting. Sample Size: hypothesizing a risk of PTD = 0.30 efficacy is defined as a reduction to 50% (risk = 0.15). With a test potency = 0.80 and alpha = 0.025 study needs to enrol 160 patients/arm, with a total of 480 patients. Data analysis: Methodological Unit will assign randomized treatment through a web site and it will collect data through the same way.

Preterm birth has been linked to certain types of vaginal infections. The goal of this study is to determine if giving women pregnant between 13-20 weeks with an elavated vaginal pH(evidence of this type of infection)Oral Clindamycin(an antibiotic)will have a lower rate of preterm birth compared to women given a placebo(starch)

To compare the severity of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) among treated infants with an untreated control population, matched for gestational age at birth while confirming the dose of rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 is safe and efficacious.

This study will examine the relationship of serum 25(OH)D levels in infants 32 weeks and greater gestation who are fed infant formula to markers of inflammation and bone metabolism.

The purpose of this study is to test an educational intervention for first-time fathers of late preterm (34 to 36 weeks gestation) infants.

In women at 26 to 30 weeks gestation and who are risk for threatened early birth, who have not had their baby by 14 or more days after being given a single course of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS), do repeated courses of ACS every 14 days until 33 weeks' gestational age lower the risk of illness or death in babies compared to repeated courses of placebo. Children are assessed at 2 years and 5 years for neurodevelopmental impairment.

The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of multivitamin supplementation on fetal loss, low birth weight and severe preterm birth in healthy (HIV negative) women.

Pregnant women who have a shortened cervix and have previously had a premature baby are at increased risk for having another premature baby. This study will determine whether reinforcing the cervix with a surgical stitch can reduce the chance of a premature birth.

Vitamin A is important for the development of healthy eyes and lungs. Very low birth weight premature babies have low body stores of vitamin A and are prone to diseases of the eye and lungs. Previous work has shown that intramuscular (IM) vitamin A reduces the number of babies who require prolonged oxygen therapy, and may also reduce the number of babies affected by retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)). There is also some evidence that the conjunctiva shows signs of deficiency of vitamin A in premature infants, particularly those who develop ROP. Our own work here in Glasgow suggests that, compared to babies born at full term, premature babies' eyes are less sensitive to light and we believe that this may reflect shortage of vitamin A in the eye. This study will examine the effects upon the eye of giving extra intramuscular vitamin A to very low birth weight, premature infants. We will also measure blood levels of vitamin A and calculate liver stores of this nutrient.

This study will determine whether giving estrogen replacement therapy through an estradiol patch can improve ovulation rates in women with spontaneous premature ovarian failure. The ovaries are glands in women that produce female hormones and normally release an egg once a month. In women with spontaneous premature ovarian failure, the ovaries stop working too soon. Women with this disorder have abnormally high levels of leuteinizing hormone (LH) in their blood, which impedes normal ovulation. In some women, estrogen replacement can suppress LH levels to the normal range. Women between 18 and 40 years of age with premature ovarian failure may be eligible for this 4-month study. Participants receive either standard hormone replacement therapy, consisting of an estradiol patch and progestin tablets, or placebo. The placebo group receives patches and tablets that look the same as those for the group with active treatment but they contain no hormone. All participants wear the patch every day and take the tablets the first 12 days of each month. In addition to taking the study drug, participants have blood drawn once a week for the 16 weeks of the study. At the end of the trial, women who were in the placebo group are offered the opportunity to receive the estrogen patch and progestin therapy for another 16 weeks and continue the blood tests to determine if they ovulate on this treatment.