23rd December 2021

A 29-year-old lady comes to A+E over concerns regarding her pregnancy. She is 28 weeks pregnant with no previous children

A 29-year-old lady comes to A+E over concerns regarding her pregnancy. She is 28 weeks pregnant with no previous children, and feels some abdominal discomfort, as though her abdomen is tightening but it is not causing any considerable pain. These are happening every ten minutes for the past hour. She doesn’t believe she has had any vaginal discharge and the baby seems to kick following each episode of tightening, but according to the mother, is moving normal amounts.

On examination she is generally well. There is no liquor or blood in the vaginal canal and the cervix appears closed. A cardiotocogram is performed which shows a heart rate of 115 bpm with no decelerations. Transvaginal ultrasound shows a cervical length of 4cm. Foetal fibronectin is negative. Urine dipstick is negative for infection. What is the next step in management for this patient?

Select the SINGLE most appropriate option from the list below. Select ONE option only.