Poster Session 2
Category: Labor
Poster Session 2
Rachana Gavara, MD
Columbia University Medical Center
New York, New York, United States
Gabriela F. Tessler, MD
Obstetrics and Gynecology Resident
Columbia University Medical Center
New York, New York, United States
Abigail Laughlin, MS
Columbia University Department of Mechanical Engineering
New York, New York, United States
Erin Louwagie
Columbia University Medical Center
Columbia University, New York, United States
Ruddys A. Pena Recio, MD
Clinical Research Coordinator
Columbia University
New York, New York, United States
Kristin M. Myers, BS, MS, PhD (she/her/hers)
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Columbia University
Columbia University, New York, United States
This was a prospective, exploratory study evaluating the feasibility of serial, quantitative cervical stiffness measurements during cervical ripening. Seventeen patients undergoing labor induction were enrolled. Participants were assigned to receive either pharmacologic (n=5 Misoprostol) or mechanical (n=7 Dilapan and n=5 Foley Catheter) methods. Bishop score and cervical stiffness measurements (using the Pregnolia System) were obtained in all study subjects. Cervical stiffness was assessed every 4 hours for a period of 12 hours. It is feasible to measure cervical stiffness before, during, and after cervical ripening. There were not identifiable trends in cervical stiffness measurements or correlations with bishop score, though this was a very small, limited sample size. Additionally, a possible factor that may have altered measurements is the presence of a mechanical method during some aspiration measurements, which may have artificially increased the stiffness measurement. Future studies are needed to detect the impact of different ripening agents on cervical stiffness and to understand if a quantitative measurement of cervical stiffness is associated with labor outcomes.
Results:
This study describes one of the first attempts to measure the biomechanical changes of the cervix during the process of cervical ripening. 14 out of 17 (82.4%) patients had a vaginal delivery. 6 out of 17 (35.3%) were nulliparous (Table 1). There did not appear to be a meaningful trend in cervical stiffness changes during the process of cervical ripening across any methods (Chart 1). Bishop scores increased for all but 1 patient. Pre-induction cervical stiffness was not associated with change in bishop score or with mode of delivery.
Conclusion: