Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Around 53,000 babies are born prematurely every year in the UK but there’s so much we can do to prevent it.
And that’s why a year ago today we opened Tommy’s National Centre for Preterm Birth Research – happy birthday to the centre!
It’s hard to choose one highlight but if I had to, I think the biggest thing is developing a true ethos of collaboration for researchers throughout the country which has led to several innovations.
-Professor Catherine Williamson, Director of Tommy’s National Centre for Preterm Birth Research.
A key highlight from this past year happened when we reached our 1000th participant in the PRESTIGE Preterm Birth Study. Now we need to push on and hopefully have 3000 participants by the end of the project.
-Dr Peter Dixon, Co-Principal Investigator on the PRESTIGE Preterm Birth study, investigating if maternal genes are linked to risk of preterm birth.
So far in my project I’ve been looking at how mode of delivery, caesarean or vaginal, affects the health of the premature baby from before 28 weeks to 37 weeks of pregnancy.
-Moonsun Bharj, PhD student at the Women’s Health Research Unit at Queen Mary University London.
But our progress doesn’t stop here. Last week we supported the UK Preterm Birth Conference where the best minds in premature birth research got together. We want to share some of our highlights from the conference so you can join us in our hope for new tests and treatments for premature birth in the future.
- There was discussion about the role of the immune system in premature birth. Many different biological pathways make up the immune system and researchers talked about how overactivation of these different pathways may contribute to premature birth. And, importantly, what treatments we could use to correct these pathways and prevent premature birth.
- Researchers emphasised the importance of monitoring the cervix when assessing the risk of premature birth. This would allow us to intervene earlier, making sure women and birthing people receive the best treatments to prevent premature birth and improve the health of their baby.
- Baroness Laura Wyld, a member of the House of Lords Preterm Birth Committee, came to discuss the committee’s recent report. It was promising to hear how the Preterm Birth Committee are putting pressure on the government to reduce the rate and impact of premature birth in the UK.
The motivation among our researchers in the room was inspirational. They get the urgency at which this research is needed and are dedicated to saving babies’ lives. We look forward to seeing the progress made in the next year at the centre so we can continue helping make pregnancy and birth safe – for everyone.
Find out more about our premature birth research.
