ACOG Risk Factors for Preterm Birth
The following is a list of the key risk factors for preterm birth as recognized by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG):1
- You have warning signs of preterm labor.
- You have had preterm labor during this pregnancy.
- You had preterm labor or preterm birth in a previous pregnancy.
- You smoke cigarettes or use cocaine.
- You are carrying more than 1 baby.
- You have an abnormal cervix (due to surgery, for instance).
- You have an abnormal uterus.
- You have had abdominal surgery during this pregnancy.
- You have had an infection while pregnant.
- You have had bleeding in the second or third trimester of your pregnancy.
- You are underweight.
- You had a mother or a grandmother who took DES (diethylstilbestrol, a medication given to many pregnant women in the 1950s and 1960s).
- You have had little or no prenatal care.
- You have a child with chromosomal disorders.
Symptoms of preterm labor
Reference
- 1. www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp087.cfm. Accessed: 12/4/07