Striae gravidarum as a predictor of spontaneous preterm delivery: A case control study

Sefa Kelekci, Servet Gencdal, Orcun Ozdemir, Emre Destegul, Kiymet Handan Kelekci

Dermatology Clinic, Ataturk Education and Research Hospital, Ministry of Health, Izmir, Turkey.
Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic, Adana Numune Education and Research Hospital, Ministry of Health, Adana, Turkey.
Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic, Aegean Education and Research Hospital, Ministry of Health, Izmir, Turkey.

DOI: 10.4236/ojog.2012.24081                

Abstract

Background/Aims: The association between striae gravidarum (SG) and preterm delivery may be postulated because of sharing similar poor organization of extracellular matrix in both skin and cervix. Our goal was to compare the frequency of striae gravidarum in women who gave preterm birth and women who gave term birth. Methods: A case-control study was conducted in women who gave preterm birth (n = 66) and age matched women who gave term birth (n = 68). Cases and controls were recruited from puerperal women consequently seen at delivery wards of perinatology unit. All women underwent dermatologic examination in terms of SG blindly to theirs gestational weeks of delivery. The frequency of SG was compared in all groups. Results: The frequency of SG was 63.6% in women with preterm birth and 54.4% in women with term birth (p = 0.278). SG is five times more common in late preterm group than in women with term group, but this difference was not statistically significant [(p = 0.227, OR: 5.02, CI 95% (0.5 - 44.0)]. The rate of preventive cream usage was not statistically different in women with SG and without SG (p = 0.245). Conclusions: It seems that there was no statistically significant association between the risk of preterm labor and the presence of striae gravidarum. Larger prospective observational studies are needed to state expressly the probable clinical association between the presence of SG and preterm delivery.

Keywords

Preterm Delivery; Predictive; Screening; Striae Distensae; Striae Gravidarum; Term Delivery

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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