Cervical pessary is a

medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

used to treat an incompetent (or insufficient) cervix (cervix starts to shorten and open too early). Early in the

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

a round

silicone In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...

pessary A pessary is a prosthetic device inserted into the Human vagina, vagina for structural and pharmaceutical purposes. It is most commonly used to treat Stress incontinence, stress urinary incontinence to stop urinary leakage and to treat pelvic org ...

is placed at the opening to the

cervix The cervix (: cervices) or cervix uteri is a dynamic fibromuscular sexual organ of the female reproductive system that connects the vagina with the uterine cavity. The human female cervix has been documented anatomically since at least the time ...

to close it, and then it's removed later in the pregnancy when the risk of a

preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 ...

has passed. Pregnant women are at risk of giving birth too early when their cervix begin to efface (shorten) and

dilate Dilation (or dilatation) may refer to: Physiology or medicine * Cervical dilation, the widening of the cervix in childbirth, miscarriage etc. * Coronary dilation, or coronary reflex * Dilation and curettage, the opening of the cervix and surg ...

(open). Different treatments have been tried to prevent a late

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

or preterm birth. A common treatment is cervical cerclage or stitch when a suture is stitched around the opening of the cervix around 12–14 weeks into the pregnancy. A cervical pessary is being studied as an alternative to cervical cerclage since there are fewer potential complications. More medical studies are needed to decide whether a cervical pessary is equal to or the best treatment.

References

{{Reflist Health issues in pregnancy Implants (medicine)