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Vaginal pH in pregnancy in women delivered at and before term
Author(s) -
GLEESON R. P.,
ELDER A. M.,
TURNER M. J.,
RUTHERFORD A. J.,
ELDER M. G.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1989.tb01659.x
Subject(s) - pregnancy , vagina , candida albicans , obstetrics , medicine , gynecology , physiology , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , surgery , genetics
Summary. A microelectrode was used to measure vaginal pH in a longitudinal study during pregnancy in 30 women, 28 of whom were delivered at term. Excluding pH readings made in the presence of pathogenic organisms, 120 readings were taken. The mean vaginal pH of all subjects was 4·16 (SD 0·41). Analysis of variance showed no significant within‐subject variation of pH during pregnancy. Two women had spontaneous preterm deliveries (<37 weeks) and their mean vaginal pH during pregnancy was 5·05 and 5·06. Eight women admitted in preterm labour, who then gave birth, had a mean pH of 5·43 (SD 0·94) which was significantly higher than the mean pH of 10 women in labour at term (4·58, SD 0·59). The relation between bacterial growth in vitro and the surrounding pH was also examined. Escherichia coli , a potential pathogen, behaved differently from both Lactobacillus (a commensal organism) and Candida albicans . The clinical observations show a trend towards higher vaginal pH values in association with preterm labour.