[Do extended preventive indications for cervix cerclage increase labor complications? A statistical analysis on direct and indirect complications of cerclage using Bavarian perinatal data 1978-1980].

On the basis of 159.710 single pregnancies with 11.321 cerclages documented in the Bavarian Perinatal Survey of 1978-1980, with 2.676 single-child births, and 514 cerclages performed on the authors' own patients, possible complications of the extended indication for cerclage were determined as follows: The late abortion rate was not increased. Possibly because the group represented a negative selection, rupture of the membranes prior to labour, infant mortality due to infection, and premature labour were significantly more common in gravidae who had undergone cerclage. However, it was not possible to identify a causal connection between these and the cerclage operation. With regard to indirect complications there was an appreciable increase in the number of caesarean deliveries among cerclage patients, a slight increase in the number of cases in which labour lasted over 12 hours, and a significant increase in the number of lacerations of the cervix. There was no increase in the incidence of post-term births, malformations, stillbirths, or infantile acidosis among the children of patients who had undergone cerclage.