Effect of Bacterial Vaginozis and cervikal length on preterm delivery in second trimester

Objective: Preterm birth is one of the major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Clinical studies have pointed out the association between preterm birth and bacterial vaginosis (BV) infection. Our aim is to discover the incidence of BV and search for the mean cervical length and parameters for the prediction of preterm delivery. Materials and Methods: 130 pregnant woman between the 16th and 24th gestational week were included in our study. A detailed medical history was obtained from all of the women, and patients with a history of preterm delivery and the Vaginal Ph values and cervical length measurement were evaluated. Vaginal samples were analyzed, gram staining was performed, and a bacterial vaginosis diagnosis was made with Nugent’s criteria. Results:  Of 130 woman that we included in our study,  only 19 had bacterial vaginosis (14.6 %), and the mean cervical length was measured as 41.79 mm. Preterm birth occurred in nine of the pregnant women (6.9%), and no statistically significant difference was found between BV and shortened cervical length or preterm labor. When we excluded the known preterm birth risk factors from our study, we could not find a significant difference between preterm labor and BV. Conclusion:  We concluded that BV by itself is not a preterm risk factor. The frequency of BV in the pregnant women in our study group according to the preterm delivery rate and the mean cervical length were similar to those in international studies in which the relationship between cervical length and preterm delivery has been established. We did not come to a significant conclusion in our research; nevertheless, we can relate this result to the preterm delivery rate that is found to be lower than expected.