Correspondence
Previous Induced Terminations


Regarding the aspect of prevention, which is of crucial importance in a scenario of the risk of preterm birth, a relevant and proved association was not mentioned: induced terminations of pregnancies also lead to a higher rate of premature labor and a higher rate of neonates with a low birth weight (1, 2). This is medically plausible since the trauma to the cervix (as the uterus’s attachment and closure mechanism) causes lasting damage. The article mentions as a risk factor “a history of obstetrical problems (previous preterm births or late miscarriages),” but does not mention previous terminations. It is regrettable that this contributing cause of a large number of preterm births (1, 2) was not considered in the primary prevention, because from a medical perspective, this would mean that the large number of preterm babies would be reduced permanently—a favorable outcome for babies from current and subsequent pregnancies.
DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2013.0559a
Dr. med. Michael Kiworr
Mannheim
mkiworr@gmx.de
Conflict of interest statement
The author declares that no conflict of interest exists.
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