Objective: To study the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) in pregnant women with preterm labor in Siriraj hospital.

Material and Method: A cross-sectional study of 158 pregnant women with suspected preterm labor was performed between January and July 2005. The subjects enrolled in the present study were between 28⁺⁰ and 36⁺⁶ menstrual weeks. BV blue test was performed on the vaginal fluid collected from lower one- third of vagina.

Results: The prevalence of BV in women in the preterm labor group was 25.8% compared to 14.1% in the preterm contraction group (p = 0.07).

Conclusion: Compared with preterm contractions a higher prevalence of BV was found in the pregnant women with preterm labor. Given that a quarter of pregnant women with preterm labor tested positive for BV, it might be appropriate to perform this test in the triage setting.

Keywords: Spontaneous preterm labor, Preterm contractions, BV blue test, Bacterial vaginosis, Prevalence, Siriraj Hospital