Preterm labour

Spontaneous preterm labour remains a major obstetric problem because of the high incidence of neonatal mortality or long-term handicap associated with it. The drugs available for the management of preterm labour are poorly ef fective and have potentially serious side-effects for the mother or fetus, in recent years, there has been a remarkable increase in the knowledge of t he biochemical mechanism underlying uterine quiescence and contractility. M any of the G protein-coupled receptors that participate in the regulation o f myometrial activity have been cloned and characterized. and their intrace llular signalling pathways have been elucidated. The role of G protein rece ptor kinases in uterine tachyphylaxis is better understood. New development s in our understanding of the cellular mechanisms involved in uterine contr actions in idiopathic and infection-associated preterm labour are expected, which will lead to better, more selective therapy for this problem. Howeve r, much research remains to be done before the mechanism of human parturiti on is fully understood.