International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

The most effective way of caring for pregnant women who experience a prelabour rupture of the membranes is to monitor them and wait, rather than inducing birth.

New maternal and newborn health research has found that when a woman's waters break in late preterm pregnancy, but before they are in labour, there was little benefit gained by instigating an early delivery.

Doctors at the Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands analysed more than 500 women who experienced a prelabour rupture of the membranes between 34 and 37 weeks gestation.

They found the risk of neonatal sepsis and respiratory distress syndrome in the newborns was no higher if doctors waited for a spontaneous birth, although maternal infection rates were slightly higher in the expectant management group.

However, the authors stressed that due to differing standard of healthcare and the availability of antibiotics, these results could not be generalised to developing countries.

Posted by David Smith