Reframing spontaneous preterm birth as a preventable adverse outcome—A clinical audit of a preventative toolbox

Adherence to clinical guideline recommendations for prediction and prevention of sPTB was suboptimal in this cohort. The majority of spontaneous preterm births occur in women without risk factors and most women with sPTB in this cohort were not identified as having a short cervix in the early second trimester; these preterm births are therefore not identified by current predictive tools. Preterm birth continues to be associated with an increased risk of perinatal death despite the use of current predictive and preventative measures.