European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Introduction: Normal parturition at term is dependent on the programmed development of the cervix early in pregnancy. The cervix undergoes preparative changes weeks before the onset of labour. It is well known that a reduced midtrimester cervical length is associated with an increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth. Aims: The present study was undertaken to delineate the cervical changes in cases that will end up in preterm delivery from cervical changes that ends in term delivery. Methods:  This hospital based observational study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology of Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, Burdwan, West Bengal, India. 173 cases were chosen randomly after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria after having proper consent of the mothers. The duration of the study was 18 months (year 2022-2023). The data was tabulated in Microsoft Excel software and analysed with SPSS V.24   software. Results: The mean maternal age was 26.68±4.10 years in patients with preterm labour and 26.45±3.36 years in patients with term labour .A total of 173 patients were included in the study among them 16.2% had preterm delivery and 83.8% had term delivery. Majority of the patients with preterm labour (75%) were from the age group of 20- 30 years. Among the patients with preterm labour, majority (60.7%) was nulli para. Among the patients with preterm labour, majority (71.4%) was primi gravida and among the patients with term labour, majority (75.2%) was primi gravida. Among the patients with preterm labour, 82.1% was normal, 7.1% was underweight and 10.7% was overweight. Conclusions: Prediction of preterm labour by suitable effective and reliable method is a boon to save innumerable young lives. By reducing preterm deliveries, we can manage huge economic, medical and social burden on the country as well as the globe.