American journal of obstetrics and gynecology
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Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. · May 1998
The Preterm Prediction Study: recurrence risk of spontaneous preterm birth. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network.
We sought to estimate the risk of spontaneous preterm birth in parous women by use of obstetric history, fetal fibronectin, and sonographic cervical length. ⋯ The recurrence risk of spontaneous preterm birth varies widely according to fetal fibronectin and cervical length. Cervical length and fetal fibronectin results had distinct and significant effects on the recurrence risk of preterm birth. Predicted recurrence risk is increased by twofold to fourfold in women with a positive compared with a negative fetal fibronectin, and it increases as cervical length shortens in both fetal fibronectin-positive and fetal fibronectin-negative women. These data may be useful to care for women with a history of preterm birth and to design studies to prevent recurrent premature delivery.