Risk factors for spontaneous preterm birth are mediated through changes in cervical length.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although a short cervix in the mid-trimester of pregnancy is one of the strongest predictors of preterm birth (i.e., parturition before 37 completed weeks), there is limited understanding of how the dynamics of cervical remodeling (i.e., changes in cervical length) leading up to labor and delivery can inform obstetrical risk.

Methods

In this study, latent growth curve analysis was applied to serial cervical length measurements across pregnancy (median per subject = 6; IQR = 3-8) to quantify characteristics of cervical change in a cohort of 5111 singleton pregnancies carried by Black American women.

Results

A conditional mediation model including nine common maternal risk factors of spontaneous preterm birth as exogenous predictors accounts for 26.5% of the

SUBMITTER: Wolf HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12830857 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature