Optimizing Treatment Strategies for Preterm Birth Prevention

On April 5,2023 the U.S. FDA withdrew its approval of Makena and generic forms of 17-a hydroxyprogesterone caproate for the prevention of recurrent preterm birth. Having the only medication which had been FDA approved for the prevention of preterm birth taken away, has left clinicians investigating other possible strategies that can cause a dent in preterm birth rate. As Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal abnormality in reproductive age women, naturally the spotlight would fall on the treatment of BV for preterm birth prevention. After all, BV is a well-known risk factor for preterm birth. There’s been new advances in the diagnostic tools for vaginal infections, so BV is back in the hot seat as a possible intervention for PTB prevention. Yes, this has been investigated in the past. But in this episode, we’re going to highlight 2 recent publications- one from March 2023, and one from July 17th 2023- which help to solidify the answer to this question: “can treatment of BV help prevent preterm birth?” Let’s talk about that… now.