Table Of ContentWOMEN’S ISSUES
P B
RETERM IRTH
P , R F
REVALENCE ISK ACTORS
M
AND ANAGEMENT
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WOMEN’S ISSUES
P B
RETERM IRTH
P , R F
REVALENCE ISK ACTORS
M
AND ANAGEMENT
AGNITA MALIK
AND
ADAJA BAARDA
EDITORS
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Malik, Agnita, editor. | Baarda, Adaja, editor.
Title: Preterm birth : prevalence, risk factors and management / Agnita
Malik, Adaja Baarda.
Description: New York : Nova Science Publishers, [2021] | Series: Women's
issues | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020030199 (print) | LCCN 2020030200 (ebook) | ISBN
9781536182989 (paperback) | ISBN 9781536183504 (adobe pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Premature labor. | Labor (Obstetrics)--Complications.
Classification: LCC RG649 .P7445 2021 (print) | LCC RG649 (ebook) | DDC
618.3/97--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020030199
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020030200
Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. † New York
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Chapter 1 Epidemiological Factors for Preterm Birth:
Maternal Factors 1
Panos Antsaklis, Maria Papamichail,
Marianna Theodora and George Daskalakis
Chapter 2 Epidemiological Factors for Preterm Birth:
Paternal and Fetal Factors 45
Panos Antsaklis, Maria Papamichail,
Marianna Theodora and George Daskalakis
Chapter 3 The Link between DHA and Bone
Turnover in the Preterm Neonate 57
Javier Diaz-Castro, Jorge Moreno-Fernandez
and Julio J. Ochoa
Chapter 4 Maternal Periodontal Disease and Adverse
Pregnancy Outcomes: The Current Stand 79
Jananni Muthu and
Sivaramakrishnan Muthanandam
Index 105
PREFACE
Preterm birth is defined by WHO as birth before the 36 weeks and 6
days of gestation or before 259 days, counting from the first day of the last
menstrual period. Preterm Birth: Prevalence, Risk Factors and
Management presents an overview of the epidemiologic characteristics of
women who deliver their neonates prematurely, in order to understand the
depth of this major obstetrical problem.
Paternal risk factors, including paternal anthropometric and genetic
characteristics and life-style habits, are addressed in conjunction with fetal
characteristics which may be responsible for increasing the risk of preterm
birth.
The authors discuss three important omega-3 fatty acids for the
prevention of osteopenia of the preterm newborn: alpha-linolenic acid,
eicosapentaenoic acid, and docosahexaenoic acid.
The concluding study explores the mechanisms that link periodontitis
with adverse pregnancy outcomes and presents a comprehensive critical
review of the current scientific stand regarding this relationship.
Chapter 1 - Preterm birth is defined by WHO as birth before the 36
weeks and 6 days of gestation or before 259 days, counting from the first
day of the last menstrual period. Preterm birth can be sub-grouped based
on gestational age as: extremely preterm birth (less than 28 weeks), very
preterm (31-28 weeks), moderate to late preterm birth (32-37 weeks) or
viii Agnita Malik and Adaja Baarda
based on the cause of preterm birth as: spontaneous preterm birth with
intact membranes, premature rupture of the membranes leading to preterm
birth and indicated preterm birth due to maternal or fetal medical
conditions. The latest rates of preterm birth published show that in 2014
preterm birth rate was 8.7% in Europe, while in Africa was 13.4%,
estimating that 15 million babies were born preterm globally for that year.
Preterm births are responsible for 65-75% of neonatal deaths and up to
75% of neonatal morbidity and contribute to long-term neurocognitive
deficits, pulmonary dysfunction and ophthalmologic disorders. Despite the
enormous progress made in neonatal medicine, leading to major increase
of survival of the very-preterm babies, preterm birth complications are
responsible for 1 million deaths among children younger than 5 five years.
The aim of this chapter is to present an overview of the epidemiologic
characteristics of women who deliver their neonates prematurely, in order
to get to the depth of this major obstetrical problem and help to the better
understanding of preterm labour, in order to get closer to the solution. Risk
factors include maternal demographic characteristics (e.g., age, race-
ethnicity, educational level, income and marital status), maternal behaviour
such as smoking or alcohol consumption, obstetric history and
complications.
Chapter 2 - Preterm birth is a global subject of interest, as WHO
estimated that in 2014 more than 15 million neonates were born
prematurely. Despite the enormous progress in neonatology, preterm birth
remains a major obstetrical problem, being responsible for 65 - 75% of
neonatal deaths and 75% of neonatal morbidity. Preterm birth has been
characterized as an obstetrical syndrome, with multifactorial etiology and
multiple pathophysiological mechanisms, in which the immune system and
its responses playing a major role. In order to decrease the incidence of
preterm birth and therefore to limit its consequences, it is important to try
and understand this syndrome from an epidemiologic point of view, to
detect the risk factors and when possible to avoid them. In the past years,
maternal risk factors for preterm delivery were the most studied ones.
However, some important risk factors concerning either the fetal or the
paternal side, have been proved to be equally important. In this chapter, the
