Labor, delivery, postpartum

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Premature labor, preterm delivery

Australia

• Australian Journal of General Practice
  • The shortened cervix in pregnancy: Investigation and current management recommendations for primary caregivers [2019]

• NSW Health
  • Management of Threatened Preterm Labour

• PLoS ONE
  • The elements of success in a comprehensive state-wide program to safely reduce the rate of preterm birth [2020]

• Queensland Health
  • Preterm labour and birth

• SA Health
  • Preterm Labour and Birth: Prevention, Diagnosis & Management
  • Cervical Length and Cerclage

Australia, New Zealand

• Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
  • Progesterone: Use in the second and third trimester of pregnancy for the prevention of preterm birth [2023]
  • Measurement of cervical length for prediction of preterm birth [2021]

Austria

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Differences between evidence-based recommendations and actual clinical practice regarding tocolysis: a prospective multicenter registry study [2018]

• Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde
  • Statement by the OEGGG with Review of the Literature on the Mode of Delivery of Premature Infants at the Limit of Viability [2018]

Austria, Germany, Switzerland

• Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde
  • Prevention and Therapy of Preterm Birth. Guideline of the DGGG, OEGGG and SGGG (S2k Level, AWMF Registry Number 015/025, February 2019) – Part 2 with Recommendations on the Tertiary Prevention of Preterm Birth and the Management of Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes [2019]
  • Prevention and Therapy of Preterm Birth. Guideline of the DGGG, OEGGG and SGGG (S2k Level, AWMF Registry Number 015/025, February 2019) – Part 1 with Recommendations on the Epidemiology, Etiology, Prediction, Primary and Secondary Prevention of Preterm Birth [2019]

Brazil

• BMC Public Health
  • Association between preterm births and socioeconomic development: analysis of national data [2022]

• Clinics
  • The role of maternal infection in preterm birth: evidence from the Brazilian Multicentre Study on Preterm Birth (EMIP) [2020]

• PLoS ONE
  • The Burden of Provider-Initiated Preterm Birth and Associated Factors: Evidence from the Brazilian Multicenter Study on Preterm Birth (EMIP) [2016]

• Reproductive Health
  • Prevalence and risk factors related to preterm birth in Brazil [2016]

Canada

• Perinatal Services BC
  • Preterm Labour and Preterm/Very Preterm Birth

• Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
  • Sonographic Cervical Length in Singleton Pregnancies: Techniques and Clinical Applications [2020]
  • Progesterone for Prevention of Spontaneous Preterm Birth [2020]
  • Universal Cervical Length Screening [2019]
  • Ultrasonographic Cervical Length Assessment in Predicting Preterm Birth in Singleton Pregnancies [2018]
  • Obstetric Management at Borderline Viability [2017]

Chile

• BioMed Research International
  • Increase in Preterm Birth during Demographic Transition in Chile from 1991 to 2012 [2015]

China

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Preterm delivery rate in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2022]

• BMJ Open
  • Incidence and trend of preterm birth in China, 1990–2016: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2020]

• Lancet Global Health
  • Preterm births in China between 2012 and 2018: an observational study of more than 9 million women [2021]

• Neonatology
  • The Association between Evidence-Based Healthcare Practices and Outcomes among Preterm Births in China [2022]

• Reproductive Health
  • Rate of gestational weight gain and preterm birth in relation to prepregnancy body mass indices and trimester: a follow-up study in China [2016]

• Saudi Medical Journal
  • Prevalence of preterm birth and risk factors associated with it at different gestational ages: A multicenter retrospective survey in China [2022]

Denmark

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Adherence to recommended physical activity restrictions due to threatened preterm delivery - a descriptive multi-center study [2023]

Dominican Republic

• BMJ Open
  • Risk factors associated with preterm birth in the Dominican Republic: a case-control study [2021]

East Africa

• Italian Journal of Pediatrics
  • Determinants of preterm birth among mothers who gave birth in East Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis [2020]

Ethiopia

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Epidemiology of preterm birth in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis [2020]

• Heliyon
  • Is preterm birth associated with intimate partner violence and maternal malnutrition during pregnancy in Ethiopia? A systematic review and meta analysis [2021]

• Inquiry
  • Effect of Preterm Birth on the Risk of Adverse Perinatal and Neonatal Outcomes in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2021]

• Reproductive Health
  • Is intimate partner violence and obstetrics characteristics of pregnant women associated with preterm birth in Ethiopia? Umbrella review on preterm birth [2023]

Europe

• Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • What contributes to disparities in the preterm birth rate in European countries? [2015]

• Euro-Peristat
  • Preterm birth time trends in Europe: a study of 19 countries [2013]

• European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
  • Omega-3 fatty acid supply in pregnancy for risk reduction of preterm and early preterm birth: A position statement by the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG) [2024]

• European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
  • Differences in clinical practice regarding screening and treatment of infections associated with spontaneous preterm birth: An international survey [2021]

• European Standards of Care for Newborn Health
  • Information provision for women about the risk for preterm birth (PTB)

• Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine
  • Guidelines for the management of spontaneous preterm labor: identification of spontaneous preterm labor, diagnosis of preterm premature rupture of membranes, and preventive tools for preterm birth [2011]

Finland

• Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine
  • Means of reaching successful antenatal transfers to level 3 hospitals in cases of threatened very preterm deliveries: a national survey [2022]

France

• BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
  • Early exposure of pregnant women to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs delivered outside hospitals and preterm birth risk: nationwide cohort study [2021]

• BMC Public Health
  • Ability of municipality-level deprivation indices to capture social inequalities in perinatal health in France: A nationwide study using preterm birth and small for gestational age to illustrate their relevance [2022]

• Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation
  • Cost-effectiveness of diagnostic tests for threatened preterm labor in singleton pregnancy in France [2018]

• European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
  • Prevention of spontaneous preterm birth: Guidelines for clinical practice from the French College of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF) [2017]

Germany

• Deutsches Ärzteblatt International
  • Reducing the Risk of Preterm Birth by Ambulatory Risk Factor Management [2019]
  • The Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Premature Labor [2013]

• European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
  • Do obstetric units adhere to the evidence-based national guideline? A Germany-wide survey on the current practice of initial tocolysis [2022]

• Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde
  • Position Paper of the Task Force for Obstetrics and Prenatal Medicine (AGG – Section Preterm Birth) on the Placement, Removal and Surveillance of the Arabin Cervical Pessary in Patients at Risk for Spontaneous Preterm Birth [2019]

High-income countries

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • The effectiveness of antenatal care programmes to reduce infant mortality and preterm birth in socially disadvantaged and vulnerable women in high-income countries: a systematic review [2011]

• Euro-Peristat
  • International variations in the gestational age distribution of births: an ecological study in 34 high-income countries [2018]
  • Variations in very preterm birth rates in 30 high-income countries: are valid international comparisons possible using routine data? [2017]

International

• American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Does vaginal progesterone prevent recurrent preterm birth in women with a singleton gestation and a history of spontaneous preterm birth? Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis [2022]

• American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM
  • Omega-3 fatty acid supply in pregnancy for risk reduction of preterm and early preterm birth [2024]

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • The association between interpregnancy intervals and preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2025]
  • Comparison of the efficacy of nifedipine with ritodrine, nitroglycerine and magnesium sulfate for the management of preterm labor: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2024]
  • Progesterone, cervical cerclage or cervical pessary to prevent preterm birth: a decision-making analysis of international guidelines [2022]

• BMC Public Health
  • Mediators of socioeconomic inequalities in preterm birth: a systematic review [2022]

• BMJ Open
  • Comparative effectiveness and safety of nifedipine and magnesium sulfate as treatment options for preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2025]
  • Interventions for the prevention of spontaneous preterm birth: a scoping review of systematic reviews [2022]

• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
  • Tocolytics for delaying preterm birth: a network meta-analysis (0924) [2022]

• International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
  • FIGO good practice recommendations on optimizing models of care for the prevention and mitigation of preterm birth [2024]
  • Effective and simple interventions to improve outcomes for preterm infants worldwide: The FIGO PremPrep-5 initiative [2024]
  • FIGO good practice recommendations for preterm labor and preterm prelabor rupture of membranes: Prep-for-Labor triage to minimize risks and maximize favorable outcomes [2023]
  • FIGO good practice recommendations on the use of pessary for reducing the frequency and improving outcomes of preterm birth [2021]
  • FIGO good practice recommendations on the importance of registry data for monitoring rates and health systems performance in prevention and management of preterm birth [2021]
  • FIGO good practice recommendations on progestogens for prevention of preterm delivery [2021]
  • FIGO good practice recommendations on modifiable causes of iatrogenic preterm birth [2021]
  • FIGO good practice recommendations on cervical cerclage for prevention of preterm birth [2021]
  • FIGO good practice recommendations for reducing preterm birth and improving child outcomes [2021]

• International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics
  • Prediction and prevention of preterm birth: Quality assessment and systematic review of clinical practice guidelines using the AGREE II framework [2024]

• International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids
  • ISSFAL statement number 7 - Omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy to reduce preterm birth [2022]

• International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • ISUOG Practice Guidelines: role of ultrasound in the prediction of spontaneous preterm birth [2022]

• Lancet Global Health
  • Global, regional, and national estimates of levels of preterm birth in 2014: a systematic review and modelling analysis [2018]

• Medicina
  • Effect of Treating Periodontal Disease in Pregnant Women to Reduce the Risk of Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight: An Umbrella Review [2024]

• PLoS Medicine
  • Factors influencing appropriate use of interventions for management of women experiencing preterm birth: A mixed-methods systematic review and narrative synthesis [2022]

• PLoS ONE
  • Progestogens for maintenance tocolysis in symptomatic women. A systematic review and meta-analysis [2023]
  • Is there a maternal blood biomarker that can predict spontaneous preterm birth prior to labour onset? A systematic review [2022]

• Reproductive Health
  • Tocolysis for inhibiting preterm birth in extremely preterm birth, multiple gestations and in growth-restricted fetuses: a systematic review and meta-analysis [2016]
  • Reducing the global burden of Preterm Birth through knowledge transfer and exchange: a research agenda for engaging effectively with policymakers [2016]
  • Born Too Soon: The global epidemiology of 15 million preterm births [2013]
  • Born Too Soon: Preterm birth matters [2013]
  • Born Too Soon: Care during pregnancy and childbirth to reduce preterm deliveries and improve health outcomes of the preterm baby [2013]
  • Born Too Soon: Care before and between pregnancy to prevent preterm births: from evidence to action [2013]
  • Born Too Soon: Accelerating actions for prevention and care of 15 million newborns born too soon [2013]

• Reproductive Sciences
  • Prevention of Preterm Birth by Cervical Pessary Combined with Vaginal Progesterone: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis with Trial Sequential Analysis [2023]

• Scientific Reports
  • The vaginal microbiome and the risk of preterm birth: a systematic review and network meta-analysis [2022]
  • Mode of delivery and pregnancy outcomes in preterm birth: a secondary analysis of the WHO Global and Multi-country Surveys [2019]

• Vaccine
  • Preterm birth: Case definition & guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunisation safety data [2016]
  • Pathways to preterm birth: Case definition and guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data [2016]

Iran

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Assessing the risk factors before pregnancy of preterm births in Iran: a population-based case-control study [2019]

• Global Journal of Health Science
  • Preterm Delivery and Psycho–Social Determinants of Health Based on World Health Organization Model in Iran: A Narrative Review [2013]

• Journal of Caring Sciences
  • Investigating the Prevalence of Preterm Birth in Iranian Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [2017]

Japan

• Scientific Reports
  • Association between gestational age at threatened preterm birth diagnosis and incidence of preterm birth: the Japan Environment and Children's Study [2023]

Kenya, Uganda

• Journal of Global Health
  • Effect of a quality improvement intervention for management of preterm births on outcomes of all births in Kenya and Uganda: A secondary analysis from a facility-based cluster randomized trial [2022]

Low and middle income countries

• Reproductive Health
  • Rates and risk factors for preterm birth and low birthweight in the global network sites in six low- and low middle-income countries [2020]

• Science Advances
  • Multiomic signals associated with maternal epidemiological factors contributing to preterm birth in low- and middle-income countries [2023]

Malaysia

• Ministry of Health Malaysia
  • Guidelines on Prevention and Management of Preterm Birth [2023]

Middle-income countries

• BMC Pediatrics
  • Comparative efficacy of transdermal nitroglycerin and oral nifedipine in managing preterm labor: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [2025]

Nepal

• Archives of Public Health
  • Incidence, risk factors and consequences of preterm birth – findings from a multi-centric observational study for 14 months in Nepal [2020]

• BMJ Open
  • Prevalence and predictors of spontaneous preterm births in Nepal: findings from a prospective, population-based pregnancy cohort in rural Nepal-a secondary data analysis [2022]

Netherlands

• European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
  • The impact of cut-off values on the prevalence of short cervical length in pregnancy [2024]
  • Deprived neighborhoods and spontaneous preterm birth: A national cohort study [2022]

New Zealand

• Health New Zealand
  • Preterm Birth Clinic Overview and Referral Guidelines [2022]

• Starship
  • New Zealand Consensus Statement on the care of mother and baby(ies) at periviable gestations

Norway

• BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
  • Different pathways for preterm birth between singleton and twin pregnancies: a population-based registry study of 481 176 nulliparous women [2023]

• BMJ
  • Term complications and subsequent risk of preterm birth: registry based study [2020]

• International Journal of Epidemiology
  • Season and preterm birth in Norway: A cautionary tale [2015]

• Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
  • Association between maternal country of birth and preterm birth: A population-based register study of 910,752 deliveries [2021]

Poland

• Ginekologia Polska
  • Short cervix in twin pregnancies: current state of knowledge and the proposed scheme of treatment [2017]

Portugal

• Acta Médica Portuguesa
  • Prevalence of Late Preterm and Early Term Birth in Portugal [2016]

Puerto Rico

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Associations between gestational weight gain and preterm birth in Puerto Rico [2020]

Qatar

• Acta Biomedica
  • Socioeconomic Risk Factors for Preterm Birth in the state of Qatar: A Population-based Study [2021]

Republic of Korea

• Obstetrics & Gynecology Science
  • Practice patterns in the management of threatened preterm labor in Korea: A multicenter retrospective study [2015]

Rwanda

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • Maternal, obstetric and gynecological factors associated with preterm birth in Rwanda: findings from a national longitudinal study [2023]

Slovenia

• Medical Science Monitor
  • Comparison of Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality Following Spontaneous and Medically Indicated Preterm Births: A Retrospective Population-Based Study Using Data from the Slovenian National Perinatal Information System 2013-2018 [2023]

Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists
  • Cervical Cerclage [2023]

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Global Health: Science and Practice
  • Evaluating WHO-Recommended Interventions for Preterm Birth: A Mathematical Model of the Potential Reduction of Preterm Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa [2019]

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • A Scoping Review of Preterm Births in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burden, Risk Factors and Outcomes [2022]

• PLoS ONE
  • Determinants of preterm birth among reproductive age women in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from the most recent Demographic and Health Survey data-2019-2022 [2024]

Sweden

• PLoS ONE
  • Preterm disparities between foreign and Swedish born mothers depend on the method used to estimate gestational age. A Swedish population-based register study [2021]

• Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Cost-effectiveness of cervical length screening and progesterone treatment to prevent spontaneous preterm delivery in Sweden [2022]

Taiwan

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • The epidemiologic characteristics and associated risk factors of preterm birth from 2004 to 2013 in Taiwan [2020]

• Frontiers in Public Health
  • Comparison of the use of prenatal care services and the risk of preterm birth between pregnant women with disabilities and those without disabilities: A nationwide cohort study [2023]

• Medicine
  • The trends and associated factors of preterm deliveries from 2001 to 2011 in Taiwan [2019]

United Kingdom

• BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
  • The influence of the introduction of national guidelines on preterm birth prevention practice: UK experience [2018]

• BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
  • How are hospitals in England caring for women at risk of preterm birth in 2021? The influence of national guidance on preterm birth care in England: a national questionnaire [2023]

• Health Technology Assessment
  • A prognostic model, including quantitative fetal fibronectin, to predict preterm labour: the QUIDS meta-analysis and prospective cohort study [2021]
  • Three biomarker tests to help diagnose preterm labour: a systematic review and economic evaluation [2019]
  • Does progesterone prophylaxis to prevent preterm labour improve outcome? A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial (OPPTIMUM) [2018]

• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
  • Preterm labour and birth [2022]
  • 2022 exceptional surveillance of preterm labour and birth (NICE guideline NG25) [2022]
  • Preterm labour and birth (Quality standard) [2019]
  • Biomarker tests to help diagnose preterm labour in women with intact membranes [2018]

• NHS England
  • Preterm birth guideline [2025]

• Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
  • Spontaneous preterm birth prevention in multiple pregnancy [2018]

• UK National Screening Committee
  • Preterm birth

• WISDOM
  • Preterm Birth Guidance [2024]

United States

• AJP Reports
  • Understanding if, How, and Why Women with Prior Spontaneous Preterm Births are Treated with Progestogens: A National Survey of Obstetrician Practice Patterns [2018]

• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • Updated Clinical Guidance for the Use of Progesterone Supplementation for the Prevention of Recurrent Preterm Birth [2023]
  • Practice Bulletin No. 171: Management of Preterm Labor [2016]

• American College of Radiology
  • Assessment of Gravid Cervix

• American Family Physician
  • Preterm Labor: Prevention and Management [2017]

• American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Should case management be considered a component of obstetrical interventions for pregnancies at risk of preterm birth? [2023]

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Factors associated with infant sex and preterm birth status for selected birth defects from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2011 [2024]
  • Exploring the Decline in the Singleton Preterm Birth Rate in the United States, 2019-2020 [2021]
  • Effects of Maternal Age and Age-Specific Preterm Birth Rates on Overall Preterm Birth Rates — United States, 2007 and 2014 [2016]
  • CDC Grand Rounds: Public Health Strategies to Prevent Preterm Birth [2016]

• Early Human Development 
  • The 2016 presidential election and periviable births among Latina women [2020]

• JAMA Health Forum
  • Association Between Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines and Preterm Delivery Among Females Aged 18 to 24 Years [2023]

• Journal of Perinatal Medicine
  • Vaginal progesterone for the prevention of preterm birth: who can benefit and who cannot? Evidence-based recommendations for clinical use [2022]

• Journal of Perinatology
  • Temporal trends in preterm birth phenotypes by plurality: Black–White disparity over half a century [2021]
  • The impact of changes in preterm birth among twins on stillbirth and infant mortality in the United States [2014]

• National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • Cervical length distribution and other sonographic ancillary findings of singleton nulliparous patients at midgestation [2021]
  • Adverse Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Indicated Compared with Spontaneous Preterm Birth in Healthy Nulliparas: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Trial [2018]
  • What we have learned about the role of 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate in the prevention of preterm birth [2016]
  • Serious maternal complications after early preterm delivery (24-33 weeks' gestation) [2015]
  • Preterm Labor and Birth

• Nutrition Reviews
  • Magnesium levels in relation to rates of preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analysis of ecological, observational, and interventional studies [2021]

• Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Association of Antenatal Corticosteroids and Magnesium Sulfate Therapy With Neurodevelopmental Outcome in Extremely Preterm Infants [2020]

• Seminars in Perinatology
  • Preterm birth lifetime costs in the United States in 2016: An update [2021]

• Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • SMFM Consult Series #70: Management of short cervix in individuals without a history of spontaneous preterm birth [2024]
  • Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #65: Transabdominal cerclage [2023]
  • SMFM Special Statement: Response to the Food and Drug Administration’s withdrawal of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate [2023]
  • Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Consult Series #50: The role of activity restriction in obstetric management [2020]
  • SMFM Statement: Use of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate for prevention of recurrent preterm birth [2020]
  • The role of cervical pessary placement to prevent preterm birth in clinical practice [2017]
  • The choice of progestogen for the prevention of preterm birth in women with singleton pregnancy and prior preterm birth [2017]
  • The role of routine cervical length screening in selected high- and low-risk women for preterm birth prevention [2016]
  • Progesterone and preterm birth prevention: translating clinical trials data into clinical practice [2012]

• StatPearls
  • Tocolysis

WHO

• World Health Organization
  • Target product profile for drugs to prevent spontaneous preterm birth [2023]
  • Target product profile for drugs to manage preterm labour [2023]
  • Born too soon: decade of action on preterm birth [2023]
  • WHO recommendation on tocolytic therapy for improving preterm birth outcomes [2022]
  • Global, regional and national levels and trends of preterm birth rates for 1990 to 2014: protocol for development of World Health Organization estimates [2016]
  • WHO recommendations on interventions to improve preterm birth outcomes [2015]
  • Risk factors for spontaneous and provider-initiated preterm delivery in high and low Human Development Index countries: a secondary analysis of the World Health Organization Multicountry Survey on Maternal and Newborn Health [2014]
  • Born too soon: the global action report on preterm birth [2012]
  • Preterm birth: Fact sheet

{Related topics}

• Topic
  • Premature rupture of membranes
  • Premature infants, low birth weight, small for gestational age
  • Newborn respiratory tract diseases
  • Miscarriage
  • Maternal and neonatal infections
  • Labor, delivery
  • Fetal maturation, antenatal corticosteroids