Short Cervix: A cause of preterm delivery in young adolescents?

Objective: To test the hypothesis that at midgestation younger adolescents (> 16 years of age at conception) have shorter cervices than older adolescents (16–19 years of age at conception).Methods: At midgestation (22.9 ± 2.4 weeks) we measured cervical length by transvaginal ultrasound in a group of 46 13–19-year-old participants in an intensive, adolescent-oriented, antenatal program. Subjects were also comprehensively screened and treated for other recognized physiologic, microbiologic, obstetric, behavioral, and psychosocial factors associated with preterm delivery. Univariate, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses were used.Results: The 18 younger adolescents had significantly shorter cervices than the 28 older adolescents (30 ± 11 mm vs. 39 ± 8 mm; P = 0.002). The younger adolescents' cervices were also more likely to be ≤25 mm long (33% and 4%, respectively; P = 0.02) and to exhibit funneling (39% vs. 4%; P = 0.01). Teenagers with cervices ≤25 mm long were younger, thinner, more apt to report...