Cervical Incompetence and Preterm Delivery

Premature delivery is one of the most troublesome problems in obstetrics. Occurring in 10 percent of all pregnancies, premature delivery is the second most important contributor to perinatal mortality, after fetal anomalies.1 Despite a great deal of research in this area, the rate of prematurity has not declined in the past 50 years.Many factors have contributed to the unsatisfactory progress in the management, as well as the prevention, of premature delivery. A limited understanding of the pathophysiology of premature labor, difficulty of making the diagnosis, the low predictive value of the known risk factors, and the lack of effective . . .