New hope for preventing preterm birth: The promise of vaginal nanoformulations

Defined as birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation, preterm birth (PTB) accounts for the vast majority of perinatal morbidity and mortality. [1–3] Sadly, data collected by the World Health Organization indicate that the annual rate of PTB worldwide has not improved over the last several decades and is greater than 10% in most countries. [4] PTB rates are generally higher in the developing world; among industrialized nations, the United States (US) has the highest rate of PTB. [2] In the US particularly, advances in neonatology have occurred more rapidly than in the field of obstetrics, so that more and more neonates born closer and closer to the cusp of viability survive their neonatal intensive care unit stay, only to live with a constellation of medical challenges. The acute sequelae of PTB, such as respiratory distress syndrome and necrotizing enterocolitis, are replaced by lifelong respiratory, metabolic and neurologic abnormalities, including retinopathy of prematurity and cerebral palsy. [5] The personal and societal costs of PTB are enormous.