Cervical pessary doesn't reduce rate of preterm birth or neonatal complications in twin gestatations

Large international study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology shows that this intervention is not effective

2015-08-27

(Press-News.org) Philadelphia, PA, Aug 27, 2015 - Having twins accounts for only 1.5% of all births but 25% of preterm births, the leading cause of infant mortality worldwide. Successful strategies for reducing singleton preterm births include prophylactic use of progesterone and cervical cerclage in patients with a prior history of preterm birth. To investigate whether the use of a cervical pessary might reduce premature births of twins, an international team of researchers conducted a large, multicenter, international randomized clinical trial (RCT) of approximately 1200 twin pregnancies. They report in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology that placement of a cervical pessary did not reduce spontaneous preterm births or reduce neonatal complications.

The rates of preterm birth (defined as END

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