An end to premature births?

Scientists have discovered how to delay the onset of childbirth in a breakthrough that could mean the end of premature births.

The discovery is a major step forward in the battle against birth complications which affect millions of women in Britain each year, also holding out the prospect of doctors temporarily halting the start of a labour if there are serious problems.

American researchers managed to successfully delay birth in mice by up to two days by giving mothers a new drug that regulates hormone levels.

Dr Carole Mendelso, a professor of biochemistry, obstetrics and gynaecology who carried out the study, said the discovery had huge implications.

"The way mice and humans work in this respect is, we believe, identical so we have no reason to believe this won't work in humans. Ultimately this could lead to us controlling labour and eradicating premature births," he explained.

Today Bonnie Green of Bliss, a UK premature baby charity, said the research could be "a massive breakthrough" for parents and their babies.

"Every day you can delay a premature birth, it gives the baby a better chance of survival - and if we're talking weeks, this could save thousands of lives. A premature birth is one of the most traumatic events a mother can go through, so anything that helps is good for everyone involved."

Though the team delayed the mouse births by only two days, a mouse gestates in just 19 days, so the human equivalent of this delay would be four weeks.

The new drug, trichostatin A, controls progesterone, the hormone which is thought to be responsible for stopping the uterus from contracting until the end of pregnancy.

The researchers analysed protein levels in uterus samples taken from two groups of women, one going through labour and one not. Dr Mendelso, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre in Dallas, said: "We found that certain activators, namely progesterone, decrease markedly during labour. We then decided to test the theory in mice, and lo and behold, we found the same levels dropped.

"After experimentation with trichostatin, we found it effectively let us take control of the contractions in the uterus, prolonging the labour by two days.

"We are still not entirely sure what the final trigger for the contraction is. Although we think we have a clear idea, it's just not 100 per cent there yet."

Dr Mendelso's research is to be published this week in US journal Proceedings Of The National Academy of Sciences. The team plans shortly to publish further research on exactly what triggers initial contractions in pregnant women.

Human trials of the new drug are still likely to be several months away.

Dr Danny Tucker, a clinical lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecologyat Oxford University, said that if the breakthrough proved to be true it could lead to a huge boost in the understanding of premature childbirth and treatments for it.

He said: "Premature birth is the biggest cause of perinatal mortality in the UK, and we really do not know that much about what causes it.

"There is no clear indicator of exactly when a mother will give birth, or whether there will be complications.

"If this leads to a human therapy, then it could give children a chance to evolve in the womb to a stage where they have a real chance of life." But he added: "The research is very theoretical at the moment."

In 2000/2001, around seven per cent of all new UK babies were born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. According to Tommy's, a British charity that researches premature birth, one in 10 goes on to develop a disability.