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Many of the known causes of preterm birth originate from mechanical failure in reproductive tissues. To better understand the biomechanical environment of the gravid uterus and its potential contribution to preterm birth, this computational study presents a parametric method for modeling maternal reproductive anatomy during the early second trimester. A finite element modeling approach was built using existing sonographic measurements from early second-trimester maternal anatomy and material properties from published mechanical tests. We applied the same physiologically relevant intrauterine pressure to all models and quantified the resulting tissue stretch. The sensitivity of the stretch in the proximal cervix was explored by varying material properties and sonographic maternal anatomy dimensions. Cervical material properties, particularly the fiber stiffness modulus and ground substance Young's modulus, were found to have the greatest effect on proximal cervix stretch compared to other material properties and sonographic dimensions. Among the sonographic dimension measurements, those defining the region surrounding the proximal cervix had the greatest effect on proximal cervix stretch, including the curvature of the posterior uterine wall and the thickness of the lower uterine segment. The computational modeling approach presented here enables future patient-specific studies of gravid reproductive tissues to elucidate differences between individuals who do and do not deliver preterm. Additionally, this study is foundational for building digital twins to support future virtual clinical studies on diagnostic and therapeutic device design to prevent preterm birth.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1115\/1.4072672","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T09:34:55Z","timestamp":1788341695000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1115\/crossmarkpolicy-asme","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Finite Element Model of Pregnancy Derived From Maternal Sonography: Effect of Uterine and Cervical Structural Properties on Cervical Mechanical Loading"],"prefix":"10.1115","volume":"148","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6384-0777","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erin M.","family":"Louwagie","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University , New York, NY 10027"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hannah Z.","family":"Haider","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00hj8s172","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Columbia University Department of Mechanical Engineering, , New York, NY 10027"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Camilo","family":"Duarte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University , New York, NY 10027"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00jeqjx33","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Columbia University Department of Mechanical Engineering, , New York, NY 10027"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mirella","family":"Mourad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01esghr10","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Columbia University Irving Medical Center Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, , New York, NY 10036"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michael D.","family":"House","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/002hsbm82","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Tufts Medical Center Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, , Boston, MA 02111"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helen","family":"Feltovich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai , New York, NY 10029"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kristin M.","family":"Myers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00hj8s172","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Columbia University Department of Mechanical Engineering, , New York, NY 10027"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"33","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]]},"reference":[{"issue":"9606","key":"2026102003423611100_bib1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(08)60074-4","article-title":"Epidemiology and Causes of Preterm Birth","volume":"371","year":"2008","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"2026102003423611100_bib2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Martin, J., and Osterman, M., \u201cShifts in the Distribution of Births by Gestational Age, United States, 2014\u20132022,\u201d National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD, accessed Oct. 7, 2024, https:\/\/stacks.cdc.gov\/view\/cdc\/135610","DOI":"10.15620\/cdc:135610"},{"key":"2026102003423611100_bib3","unstructured":"U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024, \u201cPreterm Birth,\u201d U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD, accessed May 16, 2026, https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/maternal-infant-health\/preterm-birth\/index.html"},{"issue":"2","key":"2026102003423611100_bib4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e65","DOI":"10.1097\/AOG.0000000000004479","article-title":"Prediction and Prevention of Spontaneous Preterm Birth: ACOG Practice Bulletin, Number 234","volume":"138","author":"American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists","year":"2021","journal-title":"Obstetrics Gynecol."},{"key":"2026102003423611100_bib5","volume-title":"Williams Obstetrics 26e","year":"2022"},{"issue":"9","key":"2026102003423611100_bib6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1511","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiomech.2015.02.065","article-title":"The Mechanical Role of the Cervix in Pregnancy","volume":"48","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. 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