• DOI:10.1002/uog.5174
• Corpus ID: 46366053

Prevention of spontaneous preterm birth: the role of sonographic cervical length in identifying patients who may benefit from progesterone treatment

@article{Romero2007PreventionOS,
  title={Prevention of spontaneous preterm birth: the role of sonographic cervical length in identifying patients who may benefit from progesterone treatment},
  author={Roberto J. Romero},
  journal={Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology},
  year={2007},
  volume={30}
}

• R. Romero
• Published 1 October 2007
• Biology, Medicine
• Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

The importance of progesterone in the maintenance of mammalian pregnancy is well established1–18. Similarly, a decline in progesterone action is believed to be central to the initiation of parturition in most mammalian species, including primates5,7,8,12–14,19,20, although the precise mechanism for this in humans has not been elucidated5,7,9,13,14,21–25. Progestogen (a term that, like progestin, includes both ‘natural’ progesterone and synthetic compounds with progesterone action)26 administration to prevent spontaneous miscarriage27–39 and preterm birth28,40–48 has been a subject of investigation for several decades. The use of progesterone in the first trimester of pregnancy to ‘support corpus luteum function’ is a well-established clinical practice27,29,30,34,35,37,39,49. Formulations of progesterone for this indication have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/ scripts/cder/drugsatfda/index.cfm) and regulatory agencies in Europe and elsewhere50.