Prematurity is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Despite this, the incidence of preterm birth has not changed during the last 50 years. Every year about 15 million babies are born preterm. Decreasing the incidence of this complication remains a public health goal worldwide. However, it is difficult to be accomplished, as preterm birth is in fact a syndrome with multiple pathological processes such as uterine overdistension, infection, cervical shortening, and immunological or genetic variations. Moreover, socioeconomic factors, the lifestyle as well as environmental factors, may influence someone’s risk of prematurity. Extensive research on the etiology, pathophysiology, and the management of at-risk cases was made so far. Recent investigations support that interventions such as cervical cerclage, progesterone, or cervical pessary may be of benefit in certain target groups. The persistence of uncertainties of such interventions prevents the implementation of management protocols for the prevention of preterm birth. So far, the use of maternal corticosteroids remains the only generally accepted intervention of proven benefit.

The aim of the editors is to cover the problem of preterm birth from the obstetric perspective, using cutting edge data. Therefore, in this special issue, we especially welcome submissions relating to prematurity. We encourage the submission of both review and research articles reporting on the etiology, the pathophysiology, the prediction, the prevention, and the management of preterm labor. Review articles should describe the current state of the art on this topic, while research articles should contain original research on any of the areas of prematurity.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Infection in preterm labor
• Vaginal flora in normal pregnancy and in preterm labor
• Prediction of preterm birth
• Prevention of preterm birth
• Tocolytic therapy
• Preterm premature rupture of membranes
• Antenatal corticosteroids
• Twins and preterm labor
• Genetics of preterm birth
• Strategies for the prevention of preterm birth