Role of Vaginal DHA on Uterine Contractions in Patients at Low Risk for Preterm Birth

Abstract

SummaryPreterm labor is a public health problem and to this day, it's the great challenge of modern obstetrics. We conducted a randomized double-blind controlled study. At the admission, all patients were submitted to cardiotocography. Patients with regular contractions but without decreasing of cervical length or funneling at transvaginal sonography were admitted. 90 patients at 24-34 weeks of gestation were finally recruited. Patients were randomly divided in two groups: A group (45 patients) received a single transvaginal dose of docosahexaenoic acid (1 gr of DHA); B group (45 patients) received placebo. At 120 minutes, cardiotocographic examination was performed in all patients. A group showed a significant decrease in number and intensity of contractions (p<0.05) as compared to B group. The results of our study show that vaginally administered DHA during pregnancy is effective on uterine contractions providing a significant decrease of spontaneous contractions and probably reducing the risk of preterm delivery.