Elective cervical suture in preventing premature delivery in multiple pregnancies.

Of 133 pregnancies conceived after ovulation induced by menotropins and chorionic gonadotropins, a group of 20 women with multiple gestations--15 twins, three triplets and two quadruplets-had elective cervical suture during the 12th to 15th weeks of pregnancy. A comparable group 20 women with multiple pregnancies without cervical suture served as the control for comparing the mean duration of pregnancy, fetal survival rate and mean length of hospitalization. Duration of pregnancy was significantly longer in the sutured group (P less than 0.05). The perinatal loss was significantly lower--16 of 47 infants in the sutured patients, as compared with 25 of 47 infants in the control group. The mean hospitalization period was shorter in women who underwent cervical suture (P less than 0.025).