{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T13:17:28Z","timestamp":1788182248434,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769126400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":22,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Pregnancy"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We have previously reported that, in metropolitan Melbourne, mitigation measures implemented to mitigate SARS\u2010CoV\u20102 transmission were associated with a reduced preterm birth (PTB) rate, both in spontaneous and iatrogenic births\u00a0&lt;34\u00a0weeks. Here, we assess the impact of mitigation measures on PTB in relation to mid\u2010pregnancy cervical length (CL).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a comparative cohort study in three maternity hospitals in Melbourne, Australia, between women with a previous PTB\u00a0&lt;32 weeks who were exposed to COVID\u201019 mitigation measures while pregnant (lockdown cohort, estimated conception November 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) and women who were pregnant before mitigation measures (pre\u2010lockdown cohort, estimated conception November 1, 2018 to February 28, 2019). In our clinics, women with a previous PTB\u00a0&lt;32\u00a0weeks routinely undergo targeted assessment of CL at around 20\u00a0weeks. Within each cohort, we assessed the relationship between CL and perinatal outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      We studied 113 women, of whom 60 were in the lockdown group and 53 in the pre\u2010lockdown group. Baseline characteristics, including CL measurements taken on average at 20.4 and 20.3\u00a0weeks of gestation, respectively, were comparable. Mean CL was 38.4\u00a0\u00b1\u00a08.8\u00a0mm versus 35.8\u00a0\u00b1\u00a09.7\u00a0mm (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.141). Progesterone usage occurred in 5% (lockdown cohort) versus 23% (pre\u2010lockdown cohort) of women (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.006). After adjusting for age, BMI, smoking status, and parity, the rates of PTB\u00a0&lt;37\u00a0weeks were 20% and 26%, respectively (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27\u20131.35;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.199), while rates of PTB\u00a0&lt;34\u00a0weeks were 5% and 19% (aOR, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.06\u20130.82;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.038). In the pre\u2010lockdown cohort, CL measurements predicted PTB (aOR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.65\u20130.90;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.009), but this association was not present in the lockdown cohort (aOR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.95\u20131.73;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a00.169).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>COVID\u201019 mitigation measures were associated with a reduction in PTB. The predictive capacity of CL disappeared during mitigation measures. This effect may be attributed to a reduction of PTB in women with a short CL. While the underlying mechanism remains unclear, these findings suggest a potentially modifiable risk factor in lifestyle in high\u2010risk women with a short CL, warranting further investigation through larger prospective studies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/pmf2.70236","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,24]],"date-time":"2026-01-24T04:55:28Z","timestamp":1769230528000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association of COVID\u201019 mitigation measures with preterm birth and cervical length: A cohort study"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"2","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-9093-0147","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicole","family":"Au","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Monash University  Melbourne Victoria Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Melody","family":"Kang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women's and Newborn Monash Health  Melbourne Victoria Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claire","family":"Mcgannon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women's and Newborn Monash Health  Melbourne Victoria Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shiva","family":"Sridhar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women's and Newborn Monash Health  Melbourne Victoria Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adya","family":"Choudary","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Monash University  Melbourne Victoria Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2263-3592","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel L.","family":"Rolnik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Monash University  Melbourne Victoria Australia"},{"name":"Women's and Newborn Monash Health  Melbourne Victoria Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7421-6291","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kirsten R.","family":"Palmer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Monash University  Melbourne Victoria Australia"},{"name":"Women's and Newborn Monash Health  Melbourne Victoria Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Atul","family":"Malhotra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Women's and Newborn Monash Health  Melbourne Victoria Australia"},{"name":"Department of Paediatrics Monash University  Melbourne Victoria Australia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8337-550X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ben W.","family":"Mol","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Monash University  Melbourne Victoria Australia"},{"name":"Women's and Newborn Monash Health  Melbourne Victoria Australia"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Amsterdam University Medical Centres, University of Amsterdam  Amsterdam The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_10_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(08)60074-4"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_3_1","volume-title":"Premature Babies","author":"Victoria State Government","year":"2014"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_4_1","volume-title":"The Role of Environmental Hazards in Premature Birth: Workshop Summary","author":"Mattison D. 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