UCI Recruiting Subjects for Study on Preterm Birth Among First-Time Mothers

UC Irvine Healthcare is recruiting pregnant women to participate in a research study on the reasons for premature birth among first-time mothers.

"It's critical to examine the causes of preterm birth in women who have never carried a pregnancy to term," says Dr. Deborah A. Wing, professor and director of maternal-fetal medicine in UC Irvine's Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. "They account for about 40 percent of pregnancies each year, and since there's no information from a previous birth, we need to find ways to predict a pregnancy's outcome and, when necessary, intervene."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the incidence of preterm birth has increased by about 20 percent since the mid-1980s and now affects one in eight pregnant American women. Nearly half a million babies are born prematurely each year. Complications related to prematurity are the leading cause of infant mortality within the first month of life. Despite advances in lifesaving technology and the expansion of neonatal intensive care units, infant mortality in the U.S. is still among the highest in industrialized countries.

The effort is part of UC Irvine's goal to reduce preterm birth and is being sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. The Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study will monitor 10,000 mothers-to-be at eight academic centers across the country. ("Nulliparous" is the clinical term for those who have not previously given birth.) UC Irvine's recruitment of about 1,200 women due before December 2011 is under way. Study subjects must consent to interviews and questionnaires, the collection of biological samples and measurements, and ultrasound exams.

To participate or determine qualifications, contact Beverly Ann Nathan, R.N., B.S.N., or Tamara House, R.N., at 714-456-6772.