Pessary in Singleton Gestations With Short Cervix Without Prior Preterm Birth

Spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) remains the number one cause of perinatal mortality in many countries, including the United States. In singleton gestations a short cervical length (CL) on transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) has been shown to be a good predictor of SPTB. The cervical pessary is a silicone device that has been used to prevent SPTB. The efficacy of cervical pessary has been assessed in several populations including singletons with short CL, unselected twins, twins with a short CL, and triplet pregnancies. Several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have been published, and several are ongoing. However, no consensus on the use of cervical pessary in pregnancy or guidelines for management have been assessed.