Even after 3 previous pregnancies, I was still nervous about the unknowns with my last pregnancy. With each one, I took whatever prenatal tests my medical team suggested, knowing that I’d want to educate myself and put plans in place if I was at risk for anything out of the ordinary. I’m confident quite a few of you reading this approach pregnancy this way, too, so this post is for you.
The PreTRM test was not a test available to me as of my last pregnancy, and certainly not for my first pregnancy. It’s pretty new. But, when the PreTRM test team reached out to me to work together on this sponsored post, I read up on it, and felt like a lot of you would be very interested in learning more and possibly taking the PreTRM test.
In the U.S., 1 in 10 pregnancies end in premature birth, and up to 50% of those women who give birth to preemies have no risk factors. In fact, the best predictor of a premature birth is a previous premature birth, but 40% of women who have premature births are first-time moms. Premature birth is defined as giving birth before 37 weeks, and it can happen to anyone.
The is a breakthrough in identifying asymptomatic women- carrying only one baby- who are at risk for having a premature birth. It’s ordered by your medical care provider and blood is drawn for it during your 19th or 20th week of pregnancy. The test looks for two important proteins in the mother’s blood that are predictive of premature birth. This video explains a bit more. If your test results show you have a premature birth risk, your provider can come up with a plan to proactively monitor you closely, and you and your family can even put a plan in place to prepare for such an event.
Not all pregnant women are going to feel the need to take this, just like not all pregnant women want multiple ultrasounds or to test for things like Down Syndrome. That’s fine. We all approach our pregnancies in the ways that work best for us. If you are a woman who wants to prepare for all scenarios, though, then you can read more about the PreTRM test on their website. In some cases, it’s covered by insurance.
