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    Research Seeks to Prevent Preterm Labor

    Research Seeks to Prevent Preterm Labor

    Working to Prevent Preterm Labor

    Dr. Feltovich’s situation is unique because her employer, Intermountain Healthcare, has supported her by giving her time to pursue her research while maintaining her private practice. Because of that support, and the hard work of other physicists and researchers, Dr. Feltovich has developed new ultrasound technology to measure tiny changes in a woman’s cervix that lead to labor.
     
    Research has shown that if a woman’s cervix is shorter than usual at 20 weeks of pregnancy, her risk for preterm labor increases. In most cases, though, a short cervix does not result in a premature birth. But if a woman’s cervix is short and soft, preterm labor is a much higher risk.

    After measuring the length of the cervix, Dr. Feltovich uses a tiny transducer to send sound waves into the tissue of the cervix to measure its softness and collagen organization. Understanding normal and abnormal changes in the cervix throughout pregnancy may one day allow doctors to predict when women will go into preterm labor.

    “If we can understand the changes that lead to shortening at the molecular level, we can develop remedies to prevent preterm labor,” says Dr. Feltovich.
     
    Right now, Dr. Feltovich, who is a medical physics faculty member at the University of Wisconsin, as well as a clinician at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, is studying both humans and monkeys to find out what the “normal” biological variability range is for cervical softness. Her human studies occur at Intermountain, and the monkey studies at her lab in Wisconsin.

    She and her team are one year in to a five-year longitudinal study on female monkeys at one of the largest and oldest breeding colonies in the world in Madison, WI.  

    “Monkeys are great because they are 99% biologically homologous to humans and have very similar C-section and preterm labor rates, so they’re a great model. Plus, monkeys show up on time, don’t say no, and have shorter pregnancies,” says Dr. Feltovich.  

    She also notes that Intermountain is a wonderful place to do research because, although the patients aren’t quite as compliant as monkeys, they are amazingly friendly and are very willing to participate in studies that may help women in the future.
     
    During the next decade, Dr. Feltovich will continue her human studies at Intermountain, working with engineers, physicists and scientists to study patterns at the molecular level in an effort to first understand, and ultimately prevent preterm labor.

    “Intermountain is special,” says Dr. Feltovich. “As universities around the country run out of funding for medical research, Intermountain is one of the few private institutions stepping in to fill the gap. They are remarkably supportive of my research, giving me the time and support I need, while allowing me to continue having a private practice.”