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Updated: Jun 7, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Does midtrimester Nugent score or high vaginal pH predict gestational age at delivery in women at risk for recurrent
Dana Figueroa1, Melissa S Mancuso, Jeff M Szychowski
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.
Objective:
To estimate whether bacterial vaginosis, as defined by either Nugent score or vaginal pH, predicts gestational age at delivery in women at risk for recurrent preterm birth.
Study Design:
Planned secondary analysis of a randomized cerclage trial in women with prior spontaneous preterm birth 17⁰(/)⁷-33⁶(/)⁷ weeks. Vaginal Gram stain and pH were collected at the initial study visit. Women not assigned to cerclage, either because they did not experience cervical shortening <25 mm or because they were randomly assigned to no cerclage, were studied.
Results:
Seven hundred eighty-six women had complete delivery gestational age, Gram stain, and pH results. The diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis by either Nugent score ≥ 7 or by pH ≥ 5 was not associated with earlier birth.
Conclusion:
The presence of bacterial vaginosis at 16-21⁶(/)⁷ weeks does not predict gestational age at birth in women at risk for recurrent preterm birth.
