The diagnosis of premature labor
The goals of diagnostic evaluation are to detect the
conditions that predispose to premature labor (ascending
infection, placental insufficiency, amniotic
fluid changes, and others) and to provide an objective
measure of the extent to which premature labor
has already begun (characteristics of contractions,
effect of contractions on the cervix, premature rupture
of the membranes). Moreover, the condition of
the fetus must be assessed, so that it can be determined
whether there is a need to deliver the baby. The
components of a rationally based diagnostic evaluation
are listed in Table 1.