Implementation of a universal cervical length screening program: identifying factors associated with decline rates

AbstractPurpose: Cervical length (CL) measurement is now accepted as a screening strategy for identifying women at risk for preterm birth (PTB). However, patient acceptability may limit its implementation. Our objective was to identify characteristics associated with women who decline this screening.Materials and methods: This is a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study of women offered UCL screening from January 2012 to June 2012. Women with a singleton gestation 18 0/7–23 6/7 weeks at the time of anatomy scan were included. Trained sonographers were instructed to perform UCL screening on all eligible patients using an “opt-out” approach. Chi square statistics and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare categorical and continuous data, where appropriate. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio for factors associated with declining UCL screeningResults: 1348 women were offered CL screening; 131 (9.7%) declined. Overall, multiparous women were more than twice as likely to declin...