Prediction of Preterm Delivery From the Endocervical Length at 11 to 14Weeks

Premature delivery is called delivery before 37 weeks. It is estimated thatevery year, about 15 million babies are born with preterm delivery worldwide, which is approximatelyequal to 11% of the total number of deliveries. In this study, a number of pregnant women with 11-14weeks of pregnancy were evaluated in order to evaluate the value of cervical length at the end of the firsttrimester of pregnancy in predicting preterm delivery.

In this cohort study, 156 asymptomatic pregnant women with a gestational ageof 11-14 weeks were randomly selected and evaluated. Cervical length was measured by transvaginalultrasound using a standard method. Cervical length and gestational age at delivery were recorded in acomputer database along with demographic information, clinical history, and pregnancy information.

The mean length of the cervix in women with preterm delivery was 31.32±6.71 mm and inwomen with term delivery was 38.96±5.80 mm. Data analysis showed that shorter cervical length wassignificantly associated with preterm delivery. With a threshold of 34.5 mm, the length of the cervix from3rd month to 6th month could predict preterm delivery with a sensitivity of 76% and a specificity of 81%.

Measuring cervical length with transvaginal ultrasound in the second trimester can predictpreterm delivery.