SERA - Sera Prognostics: PreTRM Labor Test Should Represent Advance In Risk Assessment

2025-06-30 11:57:08 ET

Preterm birth is defined as occurring before 37 weeks of gestation, and it has a US prevalence of 10% . Three percent of preterm births are early preterm, between 20-34 weeks gestation. As shown below, preterm births are associated with significantly greater morbidity, mortality and cost . Of note, an article published in 2021 in Seminars of Perinatology by Waitzman et al stated that the excess cost associated with prematurity for the 2016 US birth cohort was estimated to be $25.2 billion: $17.1 billion for medical care of persons born preterm, $2.0 billion for delivery care, $1.3 billion for early intervention and special education, and $4.8 billion in lost productivity due to associated disabilities in adults . The nominal and inflation-adjusted incremental costs per preterm birth increased by 26% and 4%, respectively, during 2004–2016. Identifying women at higher risk of preterm birth is a clinical challenge. Ultrasonography to measure cervical length is often used as a screening test. A shortened cervical length is associated with a higher risk when measured during the second trimester. However, studies have shown that in low-risk, asymptomatic singleton pregnancies, cervical length screening doesn't significantly reduce preterm birth rates , and the PPV (positive predictive value) of a short cervix (e.g., less than 25mm) is relatively low, meaning that many women with a short cervix will not deliver prematurely. In fact, a 2017 article in JAMA by Esplin et al concluded that routine universal screening using transvaginal cervical length, quantitative fetal fibronectin, or both did not accurately predict subsequent spontaneous preterm birth and should not be used in routine clinical care in nulliparous women. Vaginal progesterone and low dose aspirin are used as interventions. According to an article in the September 2016 Society for Fetal and Maternal Medicine by McIntosh et al, only 10% of all births less than 34 weeks gestation are by women with a prior history of preterm birth, and the majority of preterm births are spontaneous. ...

For further details see: