New blood test could predict when pregnant women will go into labour

Pregnancy and birth can be a scary time for women, especially in the last few weeks when you’re waiting to go into labour.

Not knowing what to expect or when you’ll be delivering your baby can make many mums anxious.

But, a new blood test may one day be able to pinpoint when a woman will go into labour up to a month before she is due.

Meaning pregnant women can plan ahead to have everything ready and someone on hand to help if needed.

The test would estimate a date with a two-week window, but this could become more precise as the tech develops.

A full-term pregnant woman usually goes into labour anywhere from 31 to 42 weeks with 40 weeks being the average.

But, some women give birth to premature babies when they deliver early – and the test can also predict this.

Which could help to ensure a positive outcome for mum and baby.

Medics usually predict due dates by calculating 40 weeks from the mum’s last period and by looking at the size of the foetus.

However, only around 5% of babies are born on their due date.

And, it can be a shock to mums if the baby comes before they’re expected..

The blood test was devised by researchers at Stanford University of Medicine.

They expect their findings will be used to create a working test in the next two to three years.

Dr Ina Stelzer, the study's lead author, said: “We found a transition from 'progressing pregnancy' to a 'pre-labor' phase that happens two to four weeks before the mom goes into labor.

"We've identified a novel way to use the maternal blood to predict when a mother will go into labor.”

Dr Ina and her team looked at 63 women who gave two to three blood samples in the last 100 days of pregnancy.

All of them went into labour and doctors could compare their birth date with signals in their blood.

Over 7000 markers in the samples were analysed including proteins, hormones and immune cells.

Mathematical modelling was used to plot which blood markers best predicted labour.

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They found that a couple of weeks before giving birth, the women’s blood showed surges of steroid hormones like cortisol and progesterone.

And, the blood had lower levels of chemicals that form blood vessels – showing the placenta and uterus are breaking up.

Plus, blood clotting markers were higher as the body prepared to prevent severe blood loss during delivery.

And, the most predictive marker was protein IL-1R4 which prevents inflammation.

Five of the women gave birth prematurely but the changes in their blood were still detectable weeks earlier.

This means doctors would be able to put control measures in place before birth such as drugs to help baby’s lungs mature faster.

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