A recent study conducted by Amsterdam University Medical Center (Amsterdam UMC) and published in the BMJ demonstrates the superior effectiveness of progesterone over cervical pessary in reducing the risk of severe preterm birth in pregnant women with a short cervix around 20 weeks of pregnancy.

This research, aimed at mitigating preterm births and their related complications, including infant mortality and long-term health issues, underscores the urgency of addressing preterm births, affecting approximately 13.5 million children annually.

The multicenter study, spanning 25 centers across the Netherlands, randomized participants to receive either progesterone or pessary treatment. The findings indicate that progesterone treatment outperforms pessary treatment in reducing the incidence of extreme preterm birth. Notably, the study advocates for routine cervical length measurement during the 20-week ultrasound scan and recommends informing women with a cervix shorter than 25 mm about the potential benefits of progesterone therapy.

Furthermore, the study reveals no significant disparity in complications arising from preterm birth between the progesterone and pessary groups. Experts emphasize the pivotal implications of these findings for healthcare systems, suggesting they could substantially contribute to the reduction of preterm births and associated complications, which have profound impacts on individuals and society.

(Source:https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-03-progesterone-babies-preterm-birth-women.html)