Preterm Labor and Birth Resources

Links to websites of groups that study or provide information about preterm labor and birth.

General Information

Services, Resources, and Support

  • Graham's Foundation external link
    The foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to offer both practical and emotional support to parents of extremely preterm infants.
  • Share Your Story external link
    This online community sponsored by the March of Dimes Foundation is for families with infants in neonatal intensive care units.

Please note: Links to organizations and information included on this page do not indicate endorsement from NICHD, NIH, or HHS.

NICHD Resources

  • National Child and Maternal Health Education Program (NCMHEP) 
    NCMHEP provides a forum for reviewing, translating, and disseminating new research on maternal and child health. The program dedicates 12 to 18 months on selected issues such as late preterm birth, and produces related reports and resources.
  • Prematurity Research at the NIH (PDF 71 KB) 
    In 2008, in response to a request from the U.S. House of Representatives, NICHD prepared a report on prematurity research at the NIH. The report summarizes research on such issues as identifying factors connected with preterm birth, caring for preterm infants, and future research directions.
  • Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch (PPB) 
    NICHD’s PPB supports research in maternal health, pregnancy, fetal well-being, and other topics, as well as long-term health outcomes associated with pregnancy and with fetal and infant development.
  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Training Program 
    NICHD's Pregnancy Research Branch supports maternal-fetal medicine research and fellowships at the Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University.
  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network 
    Established by NICHD in 1986 and funded by the PPB, the Network focuses on clinical questions in obstetrics, particularly with respect to the continuing problem of preterm birth.
  • Neonatal Research Network (NRN) 
    Formed in 1986, the PPB-supported NRN is a collaborative network of neonatal intensive care units across the United States. The NRN encompasses 18 clinical centers plus a data coordinating center.
  • Program in Perinatal Research and Obstetrics (PPRO) 
    NICHD’s PPRO conducts clinical and laboratory research on maternal and fetal diseases causing excessive infant mortality in the United States. The Program focuses on the mechanisms responsible for premature labor and delivery, with particular emphasis on the role of subclinical intrauterine infection and inflammation.
  • Maternal and Pediatric Precision in Therapeutics (MPRINT) Hub 
    NICHD’s OPRU Network provides the expert infrastructure needed to test therapeutic drugs during pregnancy. It allows researchers to conduct safe, technically sophisticated, and complex studies that will help clinicians protect women’s health, improve birth outcomes, and reduce infant mortality.
  • Genomic and Proteomic Network for Preterm Birth Research 
    This NICHD-funded research network aims to accelerate the pace of preterm birth research by focusing on global genomic and molecular research strategies and to rapidly disseminate the data to the scientific community for secondary analyses. Its projects consist of three collaborative core components: the clinical core, comprising three clinical sites; the analytical core; and the data management, statistics, and informatics core.

Other Resources

Please note: Links to organizations and information included on this page do not indicate endorsement from NICHD, NIH, or HHS.

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