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Tests may be done to monitor a woman and baby during preterm labor. These tests are:

  • Blood and urine tests to look for signs of infection
  • Ultrasound images to:
    • Look at the placenta
    • Check the baby’s age
    • Look for birth defects in the baby
    • See the position of the baby
    • Measure the cervix and the amount of amniotic fluid
  • Amniocentesis to remove and test a small amount of amniotic fluid to look for infection or to see if the baby’s lungs are mature
REFERENCES:

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee on Practice Bulletins—Obstetrics. Practice Bulletin No. 171: Management of Preterm Labor. Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Oct;128(4):e155-64, reaffirmed 2018.

Premature labor. American Pregnancy Association website. Available at: http://americanpregnancy.org/labor-and-birth/premature-labor. Accessed August 3, 2020.

Preterm labor. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at:https://www.dynamed.com/condition/preterm-labor. Accessed August 3, 2020.

Preterm labor and birth. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists website. Available at: https://www.acog.org/patient-resources/faqs/labor-delivery-and-postpartum-care/preterm-labor-and-birth. Accessed August 3, 2020.

Preterm labor and birth. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development website. Available at: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/preterm/Pages/default.aspx. Accessed August 3, 2020.

Sosa CG, Althabe F, Belzan JM, Bergel E. Bed rest in singleton pregnancies for preventing preterm birth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;3:CD003581.

Last reviewed March 2020 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Beverly Siegal, MD, FACOG  Last Updated: 2/24/2021