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Nifedipine for Preterm Labor
Why It Is Used
Nifedipine is used to treat preterm labor when:
- Regular contractions of the uterus have thinned (effaced) the Reference cervix Opens New Window and opened (dilated) it less than 4 cm, and the mother's amniotic sac has not broken.
- The mother is healthy.
- The fetus is alive and not in distress.
- Labor needs to be delayed for 24 to 48 hours. This delay is typically needed with Reference corticosteroid Opens New Window treatment to help fetal lungs mature. Sometimes labor is delayed so the mother can be moved to a hospital with special facilities for treating premature infants.
- Beta-sympathetic medicines (such as terbutaline) have not stopped uterine contractions.
- Treatment with other tocolytic medicines was stopped because of side effects.
| By: | Reference Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: May 14, 2012 |
| Medical Review: | Reference Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine
Reference William Gilbert, MD - Maternal and Fetal Medicine |
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