Maternal immunomodulation therapy for prevention of preterm birth and prematurity-related morbidity: The new era of immuno-perinatology

Preterm birth and associated prematurity-related morbidity can significantly affect neonatal health and outcomes. While the mechanisms of preterm labor are yet to be fully understood, there is a need for prenatal therapeutic interventions to treat these conditions. As it is recognized from literature, the immune mechanisms responsible for preterm labor may be different from those responsible for prematurity-related conditions in the neonate. Differentiating the mechanisms for these two processes is yet to be addressed, and steps need to be taken to move forward the new field of immune-perinatology. One class of treatment is immunotherapy to target the immune modulators involved in preterm labor and its sequelae. This paper focuses on reviewing existing literature on studying the efficacy of maternal immunomodulatory therapy on preventing preterm birth and prematurity-related adverse outcomes in the newborn.