Fetal loss is a painful experience. A history of second or early third trimester fetal loss, after painless dilatation of the cervix, prolapse or rupture of the membranes, and expulsion of a live fetus despite minimal uterine activity, is characteristic for cervical insufficiency. In such cases the risk of recurrence is high, and a policy of prophylactic cerclage may be safer than one of serial...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess funnel type and pregnancy duration in women with previous spontaneous preterm birth and cervical length <25 mm. STUDY DESIGN We performed a secondary analysis of a multicenter randomized trial of cerclage. At the randomization scan that documented short cervix, the presence and type of funnel (U or V) were recorded. RESULTS One hundred forty...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cerclage for a shortened cervix on transvaginal ultrasound scanning in terms of the rates of preterm delivery and adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes. STUDY DESIGN Pre-MEDLINE and MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched for human studies that compared cerclage placement to no cerclage on the basis of ...

Preterm birth is the primary cause of perinatal morb idity and mortality. Infants who are born at an early gestational age are at high risk of illness, injury, and handicap. To prevent preterm birth, cervical cerclage is recommended for women diagnosed with cervical insufficiency.Cerv ical incompetence is the inability of the cervix to retain a pregnancy until term or until the fetus is viable....

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether increasing body mass index (BMI) alters the efficacy of ultrasound-directed cerclage in women with a history of preterm birth. METHODS This was a planned secondary analysis of a multicenter trial in which women with a singleton gestation and prior spontaneous preterm birth (17 to 33 + 6 weeks' gestation) were screened for a short cervix by serial transvaginal ult...

OBJECTIVE Data published from the United States have demonstrated that the use of cervical cerclage has fallen in the period 1998-2013. This is in contrast to recommendations in Australia. We examined this trend using data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). STUDY DESIGN Retrospective population-based study. METHODS Data from the Australian Institute of Health and We...