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Premature birth – also called preterm birth – occurs when a baby is born three or more weeks before their due date, or before 37 weeks of gestation. In the United States, 10% of babies are born prematurely¹.

While not all premature babies face complications, those born earlier tend to experience more severe medical problems than those born closer to their due date. 

In the United States, about one third of newborn deaths are caused by prematurity, making preterm birth a leading cause of newborn death². Infants born very early – born before they reach 32 weeks of gestation – have higher mortality rates. Babies who are born closer to their due date have lower chances of mortality.

Preterm babies have higher rates of health problems than those born closer to their due dates. These can include cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and issues with vision and hearing, among other problems.

It is important that you and your doctor know your risk for a spontaneous preterm birth with the PreTRM Test. When a pregnancy is known to be at a higher risk of an early delivery, there are steps doctors and mothers can take to improve a baby’s chance of a healthy start. Until recently, there have been limited ways to predict each woman’s risk of preterm delivery. The traditional methods can only predict a fraction of spontaneous preterm births that eventually occur. For most mothers, spontaneous premature birth has been a completely unexpected event. Two tools have traditionally been used to help predict preterm birth. A mother’s history of previous preterm birth can identify 11% of spontaneous preterm births.^3,4 In addition, using vaginal ultrasound to measure the length of the cervix during pregnancy only an additional 6% of singleton pregnancies that deliver prematurely. ^5,6

These traditional methods alone don’t adequately predict who will deliver their baby prematurely. This means that many women are not aware of their risk of preterm birth and might not get the extra care that could help give their baby the best start in life.

The PreTRM Test measures proteins in the blood to achieve a more accurate prediction of your risk of preterm delivery.

Only your doctor can order the PreTRM Test. After it is ordered, Sera will help you schedule the a blood draw with a qualified phlebotomy center. We use a broad network of available sample collection sites. Within 7-10 days of your sample arriving at Sera, your doctor will receive the results of your PreTRM Test and will contact you to discuss them.

If you have undergone testing with PreTRM and have been found to be at a higher risk of preterm delivery, there are established treatments that you and your doctor can consider to address your risk. Your new pregnancy care plan might include seeing your doctor more often, working with a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine, and other options.

Knowing your individual risk of premature birth with the PreTRM Test will also allow you to take other steps to plan for a possible early delivery, including:

• Preparing your employer for a possible early maternity leave
• Plan for your family, especially if there are other children to consider
• Understanding the signs and symptoms of premature labor