| "FRIDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- The largest study of its kind has found that magnesium sulfate, the drug traditionally used to delay preterm labor, has more side effects than nifedipine, a newer treatment." "The effectiveness was about equivalent, suggesting that nifedipine is a viable alternative to the older drug. " ""It's OK to use nifedipine," said study author Dr. Deirdre Lyell, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University Medical School. "Physicians have had concerns. They've been more comfortable with magnesium sulfate, but one can be comfortable with nifedipine as well, and it has added benefits."" ""Most doctors have been using magnesium sulfate, and nifedipine is the new drug, so they are trying to make people more comfortable with the thought of using an alternate drug to magnesium sulfate," added Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. " "Preterm labor is defined as onset of labor before 37 weeks' gestation. When it's not possible to prevent premature birth, physicians try to delay delivery for at least 48 hours so they can transfer the mother to an appropriate medical facility and prepared the fetus for birth. " "Some 12.3 percent of births in the United States are preterm, a rate that continues to rise. " "Treatments called tocolytics, including magnesium sulfate and nifedipine, appear to relax the muscles of the uterus and stop changes in the cervix that lead to delivery. It has been unclear, however, which is superior. Nifedipine is an anti-hypertensive drug. " "Many physicians have been more comfortable with magnesium sulfate, partly because this is what they trained to use and what they are familiar with, Lyell said. " ", involved 192 women in preterm labor who were randomly assigned to receive magnesium sulfate (intravenously)
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