The maternal cervix: Why, when and how?

Introduction: The incidence of preterm birth has continued to rise in most countries in the world during the last decade. There are many clinical risk factors that increase the risk of preterm birth. It has been shown that a sonographically shortened cervical length is a strong indicator of subseque...

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Main Authors: O'Hara, Sandra, Zelesco, M., Sun, Zhonghua, Lee, E.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/2780
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author O'Hara, Sandra
Zelesco, M.
Sun, Zhonghua
Lee, E.
author_facet O'Hara, Sandra
Zelesco, M.
Sun, Zhonghua
Lee, E.
author_sort O'Hara, Sandra
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Introduction: The incidence of preterm birth has continued to rise in most countries in the world during the last decade. There are many clinical risk factors that increase the risk of preterm birth. It has been shown that a sonographically shortened cervical length is a strong indicator of subsequent preterm birth in pregnancy. Background: It has been established that women at an increased risk of preterm birth should have the cervical length recorded using a transvaginal approach. The sensitivity of a shortened cervical length to predict preterm birth is higher in women with a previous preterm birth, with reduced sensitivity in low risk women. The maternal cervix may be assessed using transabdominal, transperineal and transvaginal ultrasound approaches. This article discusses the available research into the use of these differing techniques and current guidelines for measuring maternal cervical length. Summary: Measuring the maternal cervical length has become an important part of the mid trimester morphology examination. The appropriate technique to screen the cervical length in women at low risk of preterm birth is still debatable throughout the wider obstetric and ultrasound communities.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-27802017-09-13T14:32:15Z The maternal cervix: Why, when and how? O'Hara, Sandra Zelesco, M. Sun, Zhonghua Lee, E. Introduction: The incidence of preterm birth has continued to rise in most countries in the world during the last decade. There are many clinical risk factors that increase the risk of preterm birth. It has been shown that a sonographically shortened cervical length is a strong indicator of subsequent preterm birth in pregnancy. Background: It has been established that women at an increased risk of preterm birth should have the cervical length recorded using a transvaginal approach. The sensitivity of a shortened cervical length to predict preterm birth is higher in women with a previous preterm birth, with reduced sensitivity in low risk women. The maternal cervix may be assessed using transabdominal, transperineal and transvaginal ultrasound approaches. This article discusses the available research into the use of these differing techniques and current guidelines for measuring maternal cervical length. Summary: Measuring the maternal cervical length has become an important part of the mid trimester morphology examination. The appropriate technique to screen the cervical length in women at low risk of preterm birth is still debatable throughout the wider obstetric and ultrasound communities. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/2780 10.1002/sono.12035 fulltext
spellingShingle O'Hara, Sandra
Zelesco, M.
Sun, Zhonghua
Lee, E.
The maternal cervix: Why, when and how?
title The maternal cervix: Why, when and how?
title_full The maternal cervix: Why, when and how?
title_fullStr The maternal cervix: Why, when and how?
title_full_unstemmed The maternal cervix: Why, when and how?
title_short The maternal cervix: Why, when and how?
title_sort maternal cervix: why, when and how?
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/2780