Etiology of preterm premature rupture of membranes.

Numerous factors have been indicted as playing a role in causing preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). After discussing the development of the amnion and chorion, this article focuses primarily on the effects that infection, nutrition, smoking, and cervical incompetence have on the fetal membrane and the subsequent advent of PPROM. However, evidence continues to support a multifactorial etiology for this entity, with numerous factors acting in concert.