Guidance
Update information
June 2022: We have reviewed the evidence and made new recommendations on the use of repeat courses of maternal corticosteroids. These recommendations are marked [2022].
Recommendations that have been deleted, or changed without an evidence review
Some recommendations have been deleted from the 2015 guideline. Appendix 1 sets out these recommendations and includes details of replacement recommendations. If there is no replacement recommendation, an explanation for the deletion is given.
Some recommendations from the 2015 guideline have been amended with changes that could affect the intent without reviewing the evidence. These are labelled [2015, amended 2022]. Appendix 2 sets out these recommendations and includes details of the revised recommendations and the reasons for the changes.
August 2019: We have reviewed the evidence and made new recommendations on the effectiveness of prophylactic vaginal progesterone and prophylactic cervical cerclage for preterm labour and birth. These recommendations are marked [2019].
We have also made some changes without an evidence review:
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updated recommendations to show cervical length of 25 mm or less as indicative of a high risk of preterm birth for consistency
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updated licensing information for erythromycin and magnesium sulfate use during pregnancy
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updated the time period when corticosteroids are offered to women with suspected preterm labour to reflect current practice
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updated advice on insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 test or placental alpha-microglobulin 1 testing in preterm rupture of membranes to remove the word 'consider', making it clearer when the tests should be used.
These recommendations are marked [2015, amended 2019].
Minor changes since publication
April 2024: We updated the licensing information about progesterone for recommendations 1.2.1 and 1.2.2. Progesterone was previously an off-label treatment for this indication.
October 2023: We updated links throughout to the NICE guideline on intrapartum care, which has been updated.
December 2022: We updated the links in recommendations 1.12.3, 1.12.5 and 1.12.6 to refer to the NICE guideline on fetal monitoring in labour.
April 2021: In recommendation 1.4.4, we added a link to the section on women with prolonged prelabour rupture of membranes who have group B streptococcal colonisation, bacteriuria or infection, in NICE's updated guideline on neonatal infection.
January 2021: A duplicate link was removed from recommendation 1.12.11. Footnotes were incorporated into the main text to improve accessibility.
August 2020: Links to the NICE guidelines on intrapartum care for women with existing medical conditions or obstetric complications and their babies and intrapartum care for healthy women and babies were added to recommendation 1.12.11. This recommendation is marked [2015, amended 2020].
October 2019: The review date for recommendation 1.3.1 was updated to show it had been amended in 2019 without an evidence review.
ISBN: 978-1-4731-1529-3