When Benign Becomes Threatening: Large Cervical Polyp Inducing Spontaneous Preterm Labor in a Primigravida

Introduction: Cervical polyp is a benign lesion, usually asymptomatic, and is very rare in pregnancy.Cervical polyp holds clinical significance when it is symptomatic and can present with various obstetric complications.It can present with complications like bleeding or spotting per vaginam, chronic inflammation accompanied by pain in the lower abdomen leading to preterm labor, affecting fetomaternal outcome.Case description: This case report describes a 19-year-old primigravida at 29 weeks of gestation presented with the complaint of something coming out per vaginam along with abdominal pain and history of spotting in the first trimester, with a similar complaint of spotting in the second trimester leading to preterm birth in the early third trimester.This case highlights the late complication of cervical polyp in pregnancy.Discussion: Cervical polyp is usually uncommon and asymptomatic in pregnancy, more common in multigravida women than primigravida women.These are usually incidental findings in asymptomatic cases and can be found during speculum or vaginal examination.Endocervical polyp can present with symptoms like vaginal bleeding and should always be considered as one of the causes of bleeding during pregnancy as a differential to other causes like placenta previa, abruptio placentae, vasa previa, etc. Conclusion: Cervical polyp is rare in pregnancy and is often asymptomatic.The exact etiology of polyp is not known but may be contributed by various factors like increased estrogen, chronic inflammation, etc.An individual approach supported by clinical and radiological imaging can help in early diagnosis and management, further improving fetomaternal outcome.