Investigating the relationship between sonographic measurement of cervical length at 37 weeks of gestation and the outcome of vaginal or cesarean delivery

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine Kosar Teaching Hospital Qazvin University of Medical Sciences

2 School of medicine,, Qazvin university of Medical Science,

3 Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences

4 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Research Institute for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran

10.22038/ijogi.2025.85597.6338

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to investigate the predictive role of cervical length based on ultrasound measurement at 37 weeks of pregnancy in the method of vaginal or cesarean delivery.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 248 pregnant women referred to Kowsar Hospital, Qazvin between June and March 2012. Ultrasound measurement of cervical length at 37 weeks of pregnancy was performed transvaginally, and then the type of delivery was recorded as vaginal or cesarean.

Findings: The mean cervical length at 37 weeks of pregnancy in women who underwent cesarean section was significantly greater than that in women who delivered vaginally (24.11 vs. 22.02 MM). At a cutoff point of 21.5 MM, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and overall accuracy of cervical length in diagnosing cesarean section were 75%, 48.9%, 37.5%, 82.7%, and 56.45%, respectively. The frequency of cesarean section in women with a cervical length greater than 21.5 mm was significantly higher than in women with a cervical length less than 21.5 mm (37.5% vs. 17.3%), and having a cervical length greater than 21.5 mm at 37 weeks increased the likelihood of cesarean section with an odds ratio of 2.86. Conclusion: Cervical length at 37 weeks of pregnancy can be used as a factor to predict the occurrence of cesarean section, but this factor has low diagnostic power (in terms of specificity) and should be used in conjunction with other diagnostic methods.

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The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 18 November 2025

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