Preterm Labor Now Preventable Thanks to a 'Blue Light'

A new and innovative way to prevent preterm labor is now being developed by a team of scientists

A new and innovative way to prevent preterm labor is now being developed by a team of scientists.

Associate Professor James Olcese is developing goggles - he's calling them light emitting devices - that could intermittently flash a blue light at a sleeping pregnant mother at risk for preterm labor.

Preterm Labor Cannot Be Prevented With Antibiotic
A new British study has found that antibiotic azithromycin is ineffective in preventing preterm labour.

That flash of light could cause a drop in the brain hormone melatonin, which is tied to contractions.

Ideally, the contractions would slow down or stop.

In 2009, Olcese discovered that many women go into labor at night when melatonin is at its peak. Future research through a partnership with preterm labor patients at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital found that when women were exposed to bright light overnight, the cells associated with contractions saw a drop in melatonin levels, suppressing contractions and potentially delaying labor.

Drugs To Delay Preterm Labor Harmful For Both Mother And Child
Scientists have now challenged the notion that keeping baby in the womb for full time is beneficial. The use of drugs to delay preterm labor may actually be harmful for both mother and child.

Olcese patented his theory that reducing melatonin would produce better results for women at risk of preterm labor.

In the study at TMH, the patients were exposed to a computer-monitor-sized lamp shining full-spectrum light. But, that interrupted sleeping patterns and was generally uncomfortable for some participants.

Preterm Labor Drug Causes More Side Effects
The drug most commonly used to arrest preterm labor, magnesium sulfate, is more likely than another common treatment to cause mild to serious side effects in pregnant women.

So Olcese, a recent winner of a $35,000 GAP award from the university, is working to develop a pair goggles that will flash blue light. Preterm birth is the birth of an infant prior to 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Thirty-five percent of infant deaths are associated with preterm labor.

Source-ANI