Ebony Wilson: Yes, I do remember that. 

Barb Consiglio: After trying for over a year, Ebony Wilson was ecstatic to learn she was pregnant.

[Text on screen:
Ebony Wilson
Experienced preterm birth]

Ebony Wilson: Being my first pregnancy, I didn't think that I had any complications.

Barb Consiglio: But Ebony and her husband lost their son when she unexpectedly went into labor at just 20 weeks. 

Shannon Gillepsie, PhD, RN: You have a chance to take a look at the website...

Barb Consiglio: As an obstetric nurse, Shannon Gillepsie saw many patients at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center affected by preterm birth. Black mothers were also twice as likely to give birth early compared to white mothers for unknown reasons. 

[Text on screen:
Shannon Gillepsie, PhD, RN
The Ohio State University College of Nursing]

Shannon Gillepsie, PhD, RN: What I was seeing was all of this uncertainty. And I hated that. I hated that for the patients, for the providers. I knew everyone wanted to help but just didn't have the tools necessary to do that. 

Barb Consiglio: So Gillepsie began developing one. A test that can be completed early in pregnancy using less than a teaspoon of blood that so far, is showing remarkable accuracy.

Shannon Gillepsie, PhD, RN: We've known for a really long time that stress, depression, anxiety, even adverse experiences in childhood, a long time before you get pregnant, increase your risk for preterm birth, but we had no idea why. 

Barb Consiglio: Her research found that specific biomarkers indicate how pregnant people's immune cells handle challenges, both physical and mental, providing a fairly clear picture of their risks.

Shannon Gillepsie, PhD, RN: We are truly producing a future likely scenario early in pregnancy. And so if the body's not responding in the right way, we can, we can see that.

Barb Consiglio: This foresight could allow clinicians to implement the right preventive measures earlier based on each individual's needs. 

Ebony Wilson: Yeah, that was you.

Barb Consiglio: Knowing her risks helped Ebony through her second pregnancy. And although her daughter Ava was born early at just 23 weeks, she survived. 

Ebony Wilson: Not only did she make it, she's thriving. She's doing well. If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp. She's top tier and she's special and she's going to do special things.

Barb Consiglio: At The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, I'm Barb Consiglio.