A new blood test discovered by researchers at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine could determine whether an individual is at risk for preterm birth.
The study led in part by fourth-year OBGYN resident Rachel Gladstone, who is pregnant herself, found that a low circulating blood level of placental growth factor (PlGF), a protein that signals placental development, is associated with early preterm birth.
“There’s a substance released by all placenta, healthy or unhealthy placentas, called placental growth factor and PIGF is released in increasing amounts in pregnant people’s bodies and supports the many changes that happen in a pregnant person’s body,” explained Dr. Gladstone.
An early preterm birth is defined as a birth before 34 weeks. The discovery could mean earlier interventions and better outcomes for newborns.
“The earlier a baby is born, the higher the risk of complications to the brain, the gut, the lungs, the eyes,” Dr. Gladstone said.
“The strategy here is to try and optimize and prevent preterm birth and if it’s going to occur to ensure the baby has the best start,” added Dr. Gladstone’s co-researcher Dr. John Kingdom, an obstetrician at Mount Sinai Hospital.
This would mean enhanced monitoring and delivery planning, like an advanced plan to deliver at a tertiary centre, which would be especially important for those with high-risk pregnancies in rural locations.
“People are either airlifted at the last minute for complications that were unanticipated or leave their families in a way that was traumatic,” said Dr. Gladstone.
The study was conducted from 2020 to 2023 and involved over 9,000 pregnant participants who intended to deliver their babies at Mount Sinai Hospital.
They were tested for PlGF levels through a blood sample at the same time as their routine screening blood test for gestational diabetes between 24 and 28 weeks.
“The technology already exists, the test is performed as part of Down syndrome screening in early pregnancy so shifting the test to a better time in pregnancy would give everybody the chance to improve their pregnancy outcomes,” explained Dr. Kingdom.
Researchers hope this testing will become the norm across the country within three to five years.
Their next step is a randomized controlled trial, that would measure the maternal and fetal health benefits of screening and costs. They hope, at that point, researchers would then be able to take this critical evidence to the government to prove the test would be worth the allocation of resources.