Magnesium Sulfate for Preterm Labor

Magnesium sulfate may be used to stop preterm labor when:

• Labor needs to be delayed for 24 to 48 hours to:
  • Let Reference corticosteroids Opens New Window given to the mother help fetal lungs mature.
  • Provide time to move a mother to a hospital that offers neonatal intensive care, if her local hospital does not.
• Regular contractions of the uterus have thinned (effaced) the Reference cervix Opens New Window and opened (dilated) it less than 4 cm, and the mother's Reference amniotic sac Opens New Window has not broken.
• The mother is healthy.
• The fetus is alive and not in distress.
• Another tocolytic medicine has not slowed uterine contractions.
• Treatment with other tocolytic medicines has been stopped because of side effects.

If preterm labor is likely to lead to preterm delivery, magnesium sulfate may be used to reduce the risk of Reference cerebral palsy Opens New Window in the premature newborn.^{Reference 2}More research is needed to find out how well this works.^{Reference 3}

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