Mode of preterm delivery and risk of recurrent preterm delivery, a multicenter retrospective study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo examine whether mode of preterm delivery is associated with the risk of recurrent preterm delivery in subsequent pregnancy. Study designA multicenter retrospective study. Women with the first two consecutive singleton deliveries at two university-affiliated medical centers between August 2005-March 2021, with first delivery occurring spontaneously < 37 weeks of gestation were included. Excluded were women with multifetal pregnancies in either pregnancy and those with an indicated first preterm delivery. A univariate analysis was followed by a multivariate analysis. ResultsA total of 1,019 women with spontaneous preterm first delivery were included. Of those, 141 (13.8 %) underwent cesarean delivery in their first preterm delivery, while 878 (86.2 %) had a vaginal delivery. Univariate analysis revealed that women who underwent cesarean delivery in their first delivery had, during the subsequent delivery: longer mean gestational age at delivery (37.8 ± 3.3 vs 36.8 ± 3.7 weeks; p < 0.01), but statistically similar rates of recurrent preterm delivery both < 37 weeks and < 34 weeks (23.4 % vs 27.2 % and 7.1 % vs 10.6 %; p = 0.34 and p = 0.20, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that mode of delivery- cesarean – in the preterm delivery was not associated with recurrent pre-term delivery (0.66 (0.41–1.04), p = 0.07). ConclusionMode of delivery in first preterm delivery is not associated with higher or lower rates of recurrent preterm delivery.