Premature Birth 101

Each Day Matters

In the last few weeks in the womb, your baby experiences critical growth and development that allows them to survive and thrive in the world. In the weeks leading up to the due date, baby’s brain, eyes, and lungs, among other systems, will become developed enough to allow them to make the best start possible. 

In the womb:

• Week 30: Your baby’s retinas are developed enough to sense light
• Week 32: Your baby begins to regulate their own body temperature
• Week 34: Your baby begins to further develop their muscles and intestines
• Week 36: Your baby’s lungs have all the structures in place to function outside the womb

Though modern neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are experienced in nurturing and treating preemies, (babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy), experts agree that the womb is nature’s preferred place for babies to develop until they reach full term. Babies whose time in the womb is shortened by preterm birth face higher risks of problems caused by prematurity.

The Benefits of Knowing Your Risk of Preterm Birth

When a pregnancy is at higher risk of ending early, there are steps doctors and moms can take to improve a baby’s chance of surviving and being healthy.

Until recently, physicians have had limited ways of trying to predict each woman’s risk of preterm birth. The known signs — such as a shortened cervix measured during an ultrasound or a mother’s history of a previous preterm delivery – could predict only a small fraction of the preterm births that eventually occur. For most mothers, spontaneous premature birth often is a completely unexpected event.

Sera has developed an innovative test that measures the levels of certain proteins in the blood during weeks 18 through 20 to provide an individualized risk assessment for spontaneous preterm birth. Rather than providing a “yes” or “no” answer to whether you will deliver early, the PreTRM Test provides key individualized information about your risk of preterm delivery.

With the PreTRM Test, you and your doctor can better understand your own risk for preterm delivery and work together to develop a treatment plan to manage these risks.