The duration of gestation is critical for neonatal survival, with early deliveries (<37 gestational weeks) being the leading cause of death in children under five years of age. Despite the global burden, relatively little is known about the processes that determine the timing of childbirth. In part, this limited progress is due to the difficulty in extrapolating findings from animal model systems to humans. However, studies of human genetic variation are starting to shed light on the biology of human labor and the timing of childbirth.

Recent work from our group and others has established robust genetic associations with the timing of childbirth. An easy solution for increasing the number of discovered genes is to increase sample size. However, additional gestational duration associated genes may be discovered from more complex models, in relatively small sample sizes. At the same time, the careful inspection of the known genes may aid in the overall understanding of the biology behind the timing of childbirth.