Pregnant Women Can Soon Benefit From Research at Jamaica Hospital

Researchers at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center have recently concluded a study that can unlock mechanisms that underline human labor and birth by studying the electrical activity in the uterus during labor.

Currently, uterine contractions are measured one of two ways.   One approach is to place a catheter inside the uterus to measure pressure. This way is accurate, but it is invasive and can cause infection. The alternative is place an external device to the patient's abdomen. This way is risk-free but unfortunately, it is also less accurate, and can be uncomfortable. In addition, neither approach is very helpful in determining abnormal or false labor.  

Instead of measuring pressure in the uterus, Dr Wayne Cohen, Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center decided to measure electrical activity created by uterine contractions.   Using a new technique called Uterine Electromyography, Dr. Cohen, was successful in recording electrical voltage, similar to how an EKG of the heart is performed.   The study, which began in December of 2002, recorded the electrical activity of approximately 100 women.   The study was recently presented at a national conference and received very favorable reviews.

Working in collaboration with Hygeia Biomedical Research Inc., a company that developed a state-of-the-art device to measure electrical activity, Dr Cohen and his staff can now use this information to bring both clinical and financial benefits to patients and health care providers.   The technique is simple and non-invasive.   Surface electrodes, slightly larger than ones of the EKG variety are placed on the patient's abdomen.   By using the electronics and mathematical algorithms developed by Hygeia Biomedical, the data can be processed almost immediately, providing the physician with very useful information.

The study concluded a definite correlation between electrical activity during uterine contractions and what phase of labor a woman is in, something that is near impossible to do with existing methods. By identifying the phases of labor, doctors can get a clearer picture of the labor process and identify potential problems during labor. Doctors could also make better decisions on when intervention, such as the administration of drugs to strengthen contractions is necessary. Another clinical benefit to measuring electrical activity is to reduce the need to administer certain types of labor-stopping drugs in premature labor that can be harmful to mother and/or baby.  

In addition to the clinical benefits, there are very important economic benefits to measuring uterine electrical activity. By differentiating between true and false labor, doctors can more clearly determine what patients will need to be admitted to the hospital. Currently, most women that come to the hospital experiencing false-labor pain are still admitted for up to two days. The cost associated with these needless admissions is estimated to be $ 28 billion annually.