BabyCare

Recent research has identified possible methods to prevent preterm birth, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, premature rupture of membranes, and preterm labor.

These include self-care methods to reduce infections, nutritional and psychological interventions, and the control of preterm birth risk factors (e.g. working long hours while standing on feet, carbon monoxide exposure, domestic abuse, and other factors). Injection with a form of progesterone (17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate) although the safety of this treatment for the fetus has been questioned by the FDA and its expert panel due to an associated increase in miscarriage and fetal death, the use of vaginal progesterone,taking fish oil supplements, and self-monitoring vaginal PH followed by yogurt treatment or Clindamycin treatment if the PH was too high all seem to be effective at reducing the risk of preterm birth. This research is quite new; however, doctors using these newer strategies have obtained preterm birth rates as low as 1 to 2%, compared to the 11 to 16% currently in the US.[citation needed]

Although short term use of folic acid may not have an effect, genetic variation in folate metabolism affects prematurity, and a recent report suggests that usage by mothers for more than a year before birth can reduce premature birth by 50 to 70 percent.