If preterm labor is suspected, most women are evaluated in the labor and delivery area of the hospital. Usually, an electronic monitor is used to check the frequency, duration, and strength of contractions. This monitor has a transducer that is placed over your abdomen with a belt. The contractions are transmitted and recorded by the monitor. The fetal heart rate may also be monitored at this time.
Other ways of assessing preterm labor may include the following:
1) Cervical examination - an examination by a physician's gloved fingers of the cervix can help determine if the cervix has softened, shortened, thinned, or dilated (opened) - all signs of preterm labor.
2) Ultrasound (with a vaginal transducer to measure the length of the cervix, or with an abdominal transducer to check the fetus and amniotic fluid levels).
3) Testing for premature rupture of membranes (the amniotic sac).
4) Testing for fetal fibronectin (FFN) - a protein that helps glue together the tissues of the placenta. FFN may be released when there is a disruption in these tissues or with infection. The protein is then found in cervical secretions where it can be sampled and tested.
5) Testing for estriol - a hormone that is released prior to onset of labor, which is found in the blood and saliva.
