For women with a singleton pregnancy receiving vaginal cervical cerclage due to a history of pregnancy loss or premature birth, monofilament suture does not reduce the rate of pregnancy loss compared with suture thread, according to a study in The Lancet.

Victoria Hodgetts Morton (PhD), from the University of Birmingham in the UK, and colleagues conducted a pragmatic, randomised, superiority trial at 75 obstetric units in the UK.

Women with a singleton pregnancy who received a vaginal cervical cerclage due to a history of pregnancy loss or premature birth or clinician concern based on ultrasound were randomly assigned to receive a monofilament suture or braided suture thread for their cervical cerclage (1025 and 1024, respectively).

The primary outcome was pregnancy loss, defined as miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death in the first week of life, and was ascertained in 1003 and 993 women in the monofilament suture group and the braided suture group, respectively.