Developing a new treatment to prevent preterm birth
For women thought to be at high risk of preterm birth, current guidelines recommend progesterone treatment to help prevent early labour, however the effectiveness of this is not well established.
That’s why we need your help this Christmas. With a donation today, you can support Professors Simon Waddington and Donald Peebles, and Dr Ashley Boyle at University College London. They are developing an urgently needed new treatment to help protect the womb from infection and reduce the risk of early labour in high-risk women, so fewer babies have to begin their lives fighting to survive.
Our goal is to develop a new antimicrobial therapy that can help protect the womb from infection and, in turn, reduce the chances of preterm birth.
Your support makes research possible
This Christmas, 100% of your gift will support the team at University College London in developing a new treatment to help prevent preterm birth.
The research team is developing a way to boost the production of an antimicrobial protein found in cervical cells that helps fight infections. By strengthening the body’s natural defences, this new treatment aims to stop harmful bacteria from entering the womb and triggering the inflammation that leads to early labour.
The team will first test how effectively the treatment can fight against bacteria and reduce inflammation. Then they’ll test it alongside the current progesterone treatment available, to determine whether the two treatments combined could provide greater protection for mothers and babies than using either treatment alone.
If our results are encouraging, we hope this will ultimately lead to clinical trials in women at high risk of giving birth too soon.
A gift this Christmas could help save lives
If donations from this appeal exceed the remaining amount needed to fund this work, any additional funds will be used to support other urgently needed research for babies and children.