How to reduce your risk of premature (preterm) birth

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Premature birth and antenatal care

Premature birth and staying active

Premature birth and your mental health

Premature birth and managing your weight

Premature birth and smoking

Premature birth and alcohol

Premature birth and drugs

Premature birth and infection

Treatment to prevent premature birth

Premature birth, also called preterm birth, is when a baby is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Most of the time, premature births happen spontaneously (naturally) and often doctors will not know why. Some things that you cannot change, such as your past pregnancy history, are known to increase the risk of preterm birth. But here we look at other things that you may be able to do something about.  

Premature birth and antenatal care

It’s very important to go to all your antenatal care appointments. This care from your maternity team will help you and your baby stay well during your pregnancy and prepare for the birth.

Antenatal care starts with a booking appointment. This gives the antenatal team a chance to identify any risks you and the baby may have and the care you will need.  

Through regular appointments your midwife and pregnancy care team will:

• get to know you and your pregnancy history
• check how your baby is growing
• look for early signs of complications, such as pre-eclampsia and urinary tract infections
• check your baby’s health through ultrasound scans and blood tests.

You can ask any questions and talk about anything you are worried about. If you have an eating disorder, have mental health problems or are worried about money, housing, domestic abuse or anything else, tell your midwife or doctor. They may be able to help or suggest where to go for more help and support.

Call your maternity unit or GP if you think something is not right. You don’t have to wait for your next appointment.

You can call our free Midwives Helpline on 0800 014 7800 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) with any questions or worries, or email us at [email protected]. You can also book a call with our specialist Black and Black-Mixed Heritage Helpline.  

Premature birth and staying active

Research suggests that people who are more physically active are less at risk of preterm birth and other problems than people who are less active.  Being physically active when you are pregnant has lots of other benefits too. It:

• helps control weight gain
• improves fitness
• helps reduce high blood pressure problems
• improves sleep
• helps prevent gestational diabetes
• improves mood.

It’s recommended that throughout pregnancy it’s good to aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity every week. This includes things like carrying grocery shopping bags, climbing the stairs and going for a walk, as well as things like swimming, dancing or doing yoga.

If you’re not active, start gradually. If you are, keep going.

You may need to take extra care if you have a medical condition or health problem. Talk to your midwife or doctor about it.  

Read more about exercise in pregnancy. 

Premature birth and your mental health

Stress during pregnancy may increase the risk of premature birth. Stress is normal and can’t always be avoided but try to limit stress where you can.

It’s common for people to have mental health problems during pregnancy and in the first year after the baby is born. If you need support with your mental health, let your midwife or doctor know so they can help.  

Read more about looking after your mental health during pregnancy. 

Premature birth and managing your weight

Being a healthy weight before getting pregnant can help reduce your risk of complications including preterm birth. Being underweight in pregnancy makes it more likely that you will have a spontaneous preterm birth. Being obese makes it more likely that you will give birth prematurely, usually because of pregnancy complications leading to a planned preterm birth.

Tell your midwife if being weighed and talking about your weight is difficult for you so they can support you.

Read about managing your weight in pregnancy. 

Premature birth and smoking

Smoking increases the risk of preterm birth as well as other problems. Protecting your baby from tobacco smoke is one of the best things you can do to give them a healthy start in life and stopping smoking will help your baby straight away. 

Read more about getting help to stop smoking. 

Premature birth and alcohol

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk of premature birth and other problems. The risks increase the more you drink.

There is no known safe level for drinking during pregnancy, so not drinking alcohol is the safest approach.

Read more about alcohol and pregnancy and where you can get support.  We also have tips for an alcohol-free pregnancy. 

Premature birth and drugs

Using recreational, street or illegal drugs can increase the risk of premature birth. If you use drugs, it’s important to seek help so you can get the right advice and support.  

Tell your midwife or doctor about what is happening. They will not judge you and can help you access other services and support. 

Read more about recreational and illegal drugs in pregnancy and how to get help. 

Premature birth and infection

Infections can increase your risk of preterm birth. There are things you can do to reduce your risk of getting infections in pregnancy. These include:

• having the vaccinations you are offered
• getting tested for sexually transmitted infections (in the UK all pregnant people are offered a blood test for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B)
• not touching cat litter or soil that might be contaminated with cat poo
• making safe choices about food and food preparation
• making sure you pay more attention than usual to washing your hands after going to the toilet, before eating, after changing nappies and before touching your mouth.

Read more about infections in pregnancy and what to do to avoid them. 

Treatment to prevent premature birth

You may be offered treatment which may help prevent preterm labour and birth if:

• you've given birth at less than 34 weeks pregnant before
• you've had a miscarriage after 16 weeks pregnant before
• your waters have broken before 37 weeks in previous pregnancies
• your cervix has been injured in the past, such as through surgery
• your cervix is shorter than expected (measured with a vaginal ultrasound scan).

Your treatment may depend on why you are at risk of premature birth and your previous pregnancy history. Being told you are at risk of premature birth can be very worrying, but there are some ways to try to prevent it, including putting a stitch into your cervix to help support it and a small tablet of the hormone progesterone that you put in your vagina.

Although these treatments aim to prevent preterm birth, they may not always be effective.

Read about treatment to prevent a premature birth.