Association between Anterior Cervical Angle of the Uterus and Preterm Birth

Background Predicting preterm delivery can help obstetricians and midwives for better management of pregnancy care. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the relationship between cervical length and uteroservical angle with the occurrence of preterm delivery. Materials and Methods: The present cohort study was conducted on 100 pregnant women with singleton pregnancy referred for routine control to perinatology ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran between Jan 2019-Apr, 2019. All included cases were undergoing transvaginal sonography to measure the anterior cervical angle and length. Maternal demographic and clinical data, as well as delivery data of pregnant women, were obtained from their medical records. Logistic regression was conducted to estimate the predictors of pre-term delivery. All analyses were performed using Stata 14.0. Results: Among 100 pregnant women, 17 had preterm delivery. Pregnant women with bleeding during pregnancy were reported with a higher preterm delivery rate (23.53% vs. 4.82%) (P=0.01). The difference of mean cervical angle between pregnant women with the term and preterm delivery was statistically different (102.12° in women who delivered pre-term vs. 86.15° in term group, P<0.001). Conclusion According to the results, pregnant women with bleeding during pregnancy and those with a higher mean of cervical angle were more prone to pre-term delivery. Therefore, the anterior cervical angle and bleeding during pregnancy can be considered as predictors for preterm birth.