Abstract
Administration of short-term tocolytic agents can prolong pregnancy for women in preterm labor. Prolonging pregnancy has many benefits because it allows for other proven interventions, such as antenatal corticosteroid administration, to be accomplished. This review provides an overview of currently utilized tocolytic agents and the evidence demonstrating their efficacy for prolonging pregnancy by at least 48 hours. General pharmacological principles for the clinician regarding drugs in pregnancy are also briefly discussed. In general, while the choice of the best first-line short-term tocolytic drug is not clear, it is evident that use of these agents has a clear place in current obstetric therapeutics.
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Acknowledgments
The contribution of DMH to this work was partially supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the Obstetric-Fetal Pharmacology Research Units Network #5U10HD063094. The contribution of SKQ was partially supported by grant #5K23HD071134. The views expressed in this manuscript represent those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the National Institutes of Health.
Disclosure
None of the authors has any financial conflicts of interest concerning the material presented in this paper.