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© 2002 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
J Ultrasound Med 21:227-232 • 0278-4297

Article

Transvaginal Sonographic Cervical Length Changes During Normal Pregnancy

Dandolo Gramellini, MD, Stefania Fieni, MD, Enzo Molina, MD, Roberto Berretta, MD and Eugenio Vadora, MD

Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Neonatology (D.G., S.F., R.B., E.V.) and Institute of Pharmacology (E.M.), University of Parma, Parma, Italy

Dandolo Gramellini, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital, Via Gramsci 14, 43100 Parma, Italy.

Objective. To examine the relationship between cervical length and gestational age in normal pregnancy in nulliparous versus parous women. Methods. We studied a cross-sectional sample of 321 pregnant women, including 185 nulliparous and 136 multiparous women. The inclusion criteria were sonographic confirmation of gestational age within the 12th week, the absence of any risk factors for preterm birth, and uncomplicated pregnancy with expected delivery during the 38th to 42nd weeks. Cervical length was measured in a straight line if the cervix did not show any curvature; in the presence of cervical curvature, themeasurement was broken down into 2 or more segments. Results. There was a relationship between gestational age andcervical length, which could be described with a linear function (R= 0.92; R2 = 0.85; P < .001).Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference between multiparous andnulliparous women. Conclusions. Our study shows that cervicallength is comparable in nulliparous and multiparous women throughout pregnancy. In bothgroups, it actually shows a progressive, linear reduction between the 10th and 40thweeks. Reference ranges constructed for the whole gestational period might be moreuseful than a single cutoff value for more efficient prevention and management ofpreterm birth.

Key Words: vaginal sonography • cervical length • normal pregnancy • reference ranges.

Abbreviations: PTB, preterm birth

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Copyright © 2002 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.