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March of Dimes Provides $2.7 Million in New Funding For Preterm Birth Research

--Innovative Scientists Aim to Predict and Prevent Preterm Birth

"This research is critical to ending the epidemic of preterm birth," said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the organization. "That's why we created the PRI grants and continue to award them even in these difficult economic times, because the goal is for every baby to be born healthy and full-term."

Jennifer Condon, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, is one of the new PRI grant recipients who's seeking clues to what causes both normal labor and premature labor. Her work focuses on an enzyme called caspase-3 that typically is involved in cell turnover.

"We think we've found a central mechanism for why the pregnant uterus usually stays quiet for nine months," Dr. Condon says. "Caspase-3 may be what prevents the uterus from contracting during a normal, healthy pregnancy. We hypothesize that inappropriate elimination of this enzyme from the pregnant uterus may be the cause of the onset of preterm labor."

Caspase-3 is positively regulated by progesterone and other studies have shown that regular injections of a form of progesterone found naturally during pregnancy can prevent some preterm births in women who have had a prior preterm birth.