Early detection of preterm labor: ambulatory home monitoring of uterine activity.
Most women who experience preterm labor cannot receive long-term tocolysis mainly because of belated diagnosis. To detect excessive uterine contractions, an ambulatory tocodynamometer was developed. Sixty-two women, at high risk for preterm labor, monitored uterine activity between 20 and 36 weeks' gestation daily for a total of 200 minutes per day. Twenty-nine women (47%) had episodes of preterm labor. All the episodes were diagnosed by the device, and tocolysis was begun. The mean gestational age at which diagnosis was made was 28 +/- 2 (mean +/- SD) weeks, and the mean time gained in utero was 7.5 +/- 2.6 weeks. The data indicate that ambulatory home monitoring may represent a new and effective means for accurate and early diagnosis of preterm labor.
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D009773:Obstetric Nursing; D011247:Pregnancy; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D014590:Uterine Contraction