Bacterial vaginosis and cervical dilation and effacement at 24-29 weeks' gestation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between bacter ial vaginosis (BV) and cervical dilation and effacement, as measures of imp ending preterm delivery. The Pregnancy, infection, and Nutrition Study coll ected genital tract specimens and documented cervical change from 807 eligi ble women between 24 and 29 weeks' gestation. BV was assessed with Nugent-s cored vaginal smears, and analyzed in relation to cervical measurements, At 24-29 weeks' gestation, <7% of women had a dilated cervix, 31% had a cervi x less than or equal to 2 cm, and 17.3% had BV. Unadjusted analyses found n o associations between BV and cervical measurements. Adjusted logistic regr ession suggested an association between BV and cervical effacement among wo men with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) earlier in pregnancy (odds ra tio = 1.9, 95% Cl 0.8-4.3). Stratified analyses for BV/dilation also sugges ted interaction with STDs. Overall, BV was not association with cervical di lation or effacement at 24-29 weeks' gestation.