LETTERS

Similar preterm birth risk factors noted

I found Dr. Norwitz’s “Assessing preterm birth risk: from bulletin to bedside” [March], intriguing. I am a labor and delivery nurse at a teaching facility licensed for 500 beds, and I found most of the risk factors listed in the article to be similar to what I see in our patients. For example, the demographic characteristics, including race, socioeconomic status, low pre-pregnancy weight, maternal age, and absent or inadequate prenatal care are evident in more than half the patients seen in the department.

Many of our high-risk patients successfully receive cervical cerclage. However, I have witnessed several incidents where a patient contracted more with a cerclage than without. When the cerclage was removed, the patient stopped contracting and remained stable. Our residents also perform fetal fibronectin (fFN) testing, and the results often are accurate.