7 Healthcast: Premature birth test

Norma Argueta and her husband are the proud new parents of a beautiful baby boy, a moment made even more special by what this new mom has been through.

Norma previously suffered three miscarriages.

She had mixed emotions when she found out she was pregnant again.

"I started crying of happiness, but at the same time sadness," Norma said. "I didn't want to go through the same again."

Halfway through her pregnancy, it looked like things were taking a turn for the worst- again.

"I came on week 18, they found out I was dilating, I didn't have any contractions or anything that would tell me what was going wrong in there, and I was admitted immediately," Norma said.

But this time, thanks to a first of its kind test, Norma could rest easy.

She was not going into early labor like her doctor suspected.

The test- called 'FullTerm'- predicted that she would not give birth prematurely.

"It's a swab, it's very simple, you go and collect some fluid from behind the cervix," explains Dr. Lucy Bayer Zwirello of Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center. "That fluid is then sent to the lab, it's tested, they then check for a chemical called fibronectin."

Fetal fibronectin is the 'glue' that holds the baby in the womb.

If the test comes back negative, the 'glue' is still intact and the baby will remain in the womb for at least two more weeks.

After getting her results and breathing a sigh of relief, Norma was sent home.

Over the next few months, she continued to have the test done, and the results gave her the peace of mind she says she needed to relieve the stress of the pregnancy.

In the end, Norma made it full-term, delivering her beautiful baby boy.

"It's a miracle, after 3 miscarriages it's definitely a miracle. It's like a dream come true," Norma said.

If the test does come back positive- expecting moms don't necessarily need to panic. Depending on how far along they are- their doctor may recommend that they simply reduce their stress, or they may prescribe steroids or put the mom-to-be on bed rest.

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