Prevention of preterm delivery

A main cause of preventable prematurity (at least in industrial countries) is ascending genital infection. Therefore early and frequent screening for and treatment of disturbances of the vaginal milieu or imminent genital infections is important. Vaginal pH-measurements provide an effective and inexpensive method for early detection of such disturbances. As part of our prematurity-prevention-program we recommend pH-measurement by the physician at every prenatal care consultation. But it is even better when the pregnant woman herself also measures her vaginal pH twice a week and looks for other warning signs within our so-called self-care-program. Our own results, those obtained in Erfurt (capital of Thuringia, Germany) and quite recently in the whole state of Thuringia by Hoyme et al., all achieved with our self-care-program, are remarkable.