Successful pregnancy necessitates that the uterus is maintained in a relaxed, quiescent
state for the majority of pregnancy, before being transformed to a contractile and excitable …

The molecular mechanisms that maintain quiescence of the myometrium throughout most of
pregnancy and promote its transformation to a highly coordinated contractile unit …

The precise temporal control of uterine contractility is essential for the success of pregnancy.
For most of pregnancy, progesterone acting through genomic and non-genomic …

The uterus is unique among smooth muscular organs in that, during pregnancy, it
undergoes profound, largely reversible, changes orchestrated by the ovarian hormones …

The onset of labour is a culmination of a series of highly coordinated and preparatory
physiological events that take place throughout the gestational period. In order to produce …

New Findings What is the topic of this review? I focus on clinical aspects of uterine
physiology, specifically, myometrial contractility. I bring together and contrast findings using …

BACKGROUND Uterine contractile activity plays an important role in many and varied
reproductive functions including sperm and embryo transport, implantation, menstruation …

Objective The goal of this review is to assess the body of literature addressing the
mechanism of progesterone withdrawal in the control of human parturition and in particular …

Premature birth accounts for the majority of fetal morbidity and mortality in the developed
world and is disproportionately represented in some populations, such as African Americans …

Preterm labor (PTL) is defined as uterine irritability accompanied by cervical dilation and/or
effacement that occurs before 37 weeks gestation. In most cases, PTL becomes preterm …