Cervical pessary reduces spontaneous delivery before 34 weeks and adverse outcomes in pregnant women with a short cervix

Significantly reductions in the rate of birth weight less than 2500 g, respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and composite adverse outcomes was seen in the pessary group. A short cervical length is considered one of the best predictors for preterm delivery in a low-risk population. 1 Once a short cervix is found, interventions such as cerclage, have unfortunately not resulted in an improvement in obstetric outcome. 2 Conversely, the use of daily vaginal progesterone as studied by Fonseca and colleagues and recently by Hassan and colleagues showed a reduction in preterm delivery prior to 34 weeks in asymptomatic patients found to have a short cervix. 3 4 Since its initial description, the cervical pessary as an alternative treatment for a short cervix has been evaluated primarily in a small number of retrospective studies in Europe. 5 Arabin et al 6 reported its value in women with a short cervix.