The Effect of Maternal Parity on Preterm Birth Risk in Women with Short Mid-Trimester Cervical Length: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of maternal parity on the association between mid-trimester cervical length and preterm birth to elucidate the potential intricacies of this relationship. Methods: A retrospective cohort study using Electronic Medical Records (EMR) data. The study population included pregnant women with a singleton fetus and a short mid-trimester cervical length, recorded in the EMR system at a large health maintenance organization. Women were categorized by parity in the current pregnancy, and a statistical analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between parity and premature delivery. Results: Data were collected from 1144 records of cervical length measurements of 738 pregnancies obtained from the HMO database. The study population consisted of 259 nulliparous women (35.1%), 451 multiparous women (61.1%), and 28 grand multiparous women (3.8%). The results from the multivariate analysis of the primary outcome showed that nulliparity was significantly associated with an increased risk of premature delivery, with a risk of 1.557 for nulliparous women compared to parous women. Conclusions: In this study, a statistically significant association was found between nulliparity and preterm birth among women with a short mid-trimester cervical length. Nulliparous women were found to have a higher risk of preterm birth in the current pregnancy compared to parous women. Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and to develop targeted interventions to reduce the risk of premature birth in this population. These findings highlight the need to consider nulliparity as a potential risk factor in the management of pregnancies with a shortened cervix.