Infant outcomes following midtrimester emergency cerclage in the presence of fully dilated cervix and prolapsing amniotic membranes into the vagina.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the morbidity of infants, whose delivery was prolonged by an emergency cervical cerclage (EC).

METHODS

Ante- and postnatal data on subsequent EC procedures performed between 14 and 28 weeks of gestation for advanced cervical dilatation with prolapsing of amniotic membranes at a single institution within a 5-year-period were retrieved.

RESULTS

We identified 21 fetuses from 18 pregnancies. Median gestational age [interquartile range, IQR] at EC and prolongation of pregnancy was 21.5 [15-26] weeks and 49.3 [24-92] days, respectively. There were 4 (19%) stillbirths, 3 (14%) neonatal deaths, and 1 (5%) infant death. Ten infants (59% of livebirths) were admitted to neonatal intensive care unit and hospitalized for a median period of 11 [6-66] d. Of the surviving fetuses (14/21, 66.7%), 9 (42.8%) were intact, whereas 3 (17.6% of livebirths) had cerebral palsy (CP), 1 was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and another had growth failure at 12 months of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

EC seems to be beneficial only in a subset of pregnancies presenting with full cervical dilatation accompanied by prolapsing amniotic membranes into the vagina, and there is a requirement for more objective selection criteria. Neonatal morbidity, especially neurodevelopmental disability should be discussed thoroughly prior to this procedure.