PregnancyPhase 4NCT00740506
Behavioral and Environmetal Factors and Time to Delivery
A Phase 4 study testing Frequency of Intercourse in people with Pregnancy, run by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study, conducted at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, CA, will determine if having vaginal intercourse in the last weeks of pregnancy decreases the risk of having a prolonged pregnancy. Pregnancies that continue beyond the due date may increase health risks for the mother and the baby. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Any age, women onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Pregnancy
- What is being tested?
- Frequency of Intercourse
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- How many people
- 510 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 20 Aug 2008to 13 Jul 2009
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages Any age
- Women only
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- 18 years or older
- Singleton pregnancy
- First birth
- Gestational age before 38 plus 6 weeks
Who cannot join
- ART (IVF or ICSI)
- Maternal heart disease
- Gestational Diabetes, mellitus on insulin or pills
- Scheduled induction of labor or Cesarean section
- Breech presentation
- Placenta praevia
Show all 13Show fewer
- Vaginal bleeding after 14 weeks of pregnancy
- Fetal growth restriction
- Known fetal anomalies (chromosomal or structural)
- Hospitalization after 14 weeks of pregnancy
- Can read and understand English
- Medical reasons for the patient not to have sex.
- Women whose husband/partner is currently deployed or will be deployed within the next four weeks or have any contra-indication for vaginal intercourse will be excluded.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Naval Medical Center, San Diego
San Diego, California, 92134-5000
About this study
Official title: Behavioral and Environmental Factors and Time to Delivery
This study, conducted at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, CA, will determine if having vaginal intercourse in the last weeks of pregnancy decreases the risk of having a prolonged pregnancy. Pregnancies that continue beyond the due date may increase health risks for the mother and the baby. Although some believe that vaginal intercourse can help start labor in the last weeks of pregnancy, there is not proof that it works. Some studies showed that sexual intercourse helped and some that pregnancy lasted even longer for couples having sex. In addition to exploring the effect of sexual intercourse on time to delivery, this study will collect information that can be used in the future to predict when labor will naturally start and the risk for overdue pregnancies.
Women 18 years of age and older in their first pregnancy who are carrying a single fetus with gestational age before 38 plus 6 weeks may be eligible for this study. Candidates must be living with their partner in a stable relationship.
Participants are asked to have sexual intercourse about three times per week. They complete a diary in which they record the times they have intercourse and how they are feeling daily. The diaries are submitted by mail each week or at the doctor's or midwife's visit until delivery. The women have a pelvic exam and ultrasound and complete questionnaires about problems during pregnancy, overall well-being, attitude toward induction of labor, physical activity, body image during pregnancy, stress and social support, habits at home, and environmental conditions, such as weather.
Read the detailed description
Risks of maternal and neonatal complications, even fetal death, increase with prolonged gestation. Recent studies suggest that the risks may start to increase even before 40 weeks of gestation, which challenges the current paradigm of induction after 41 weeks. Preliminary findings seem to suggest that induction before 40 weeks may actually reduce the risk of cesarean delivery. However, induction in women with an unripe cervix has a high risk of failed induction and cesarean delivery. Cervical ripening at hospital prior to induction is also associated with substantial costs and inconvenience to the woman.
Vaginal intercourse in late pregnancy has long been known to women to accelerate the onset of labor. It is recommended by many physicians and nurses to prevent prolonged pregnancy. However, scientific evidence to support this common practice is scarce and inconsistent. We propose a prospective observational study to assess the effects of frequent intercourse on the timing of delivery in term pregnancies.
A total of 510 nulliparous women with low risk pregnancies will be recruited during their antenatal visit after 36 plus 6 and before 39 plus 0 weeks of gestation at the Naval Medical Center San Diego. Subjects who have had infrequent intercourse (less than once per week) during the last four weeks before their visit will be asked to abstain from intercourse for the duration of pregnancy (or use condoms) (we expect to recruit 255 women in this subgroup). Subjects having vaginal intercourse more than once per week during the last four weeks will be asked to maintain or increase their frequency of intercourse up to three times a week (we expect to recruit 255 women for this subgroup). Women will be asked to record physical conditions and vaginal intercourse in a diary until delivery. An ultrasound will assess fetal biometry and cervical length and volume. A pelvic exam will calculate Bishop Score. Obstetric information will be extracted from medical records after birth. Time to delivery and rate of cesarean delivery will be compared between the women without sex and women with frequent sex. The effects of intercourse at term on time to delivery and cesarean delivery may have important clinical implications.
- Conditions
- Pregnancy
- Being tested
- Frequency of Intercourse
- Keywords
- Behavioral, Environmental, Delivery, Pregnancy
- Medical subject headings
- Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Frequency of IntercourseBehavioural
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Time to delivery
Secondary outcomes (1)
Rate of cesarean delivery
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted25 Aug 2008 (estimated)
- Study start20 Aug 2008
- Primary completion13 Jul 2009
- Study completion13 Jul 2009
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (3)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for PregnancyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 510 participants
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
- Sponsor type
- US National Institutes of Health
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00740506
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 999908199
- Other IDs
- 08-CH-N199
- Status last verified
- 13 Jul 2009
- First submitted
- 22 Aug 2008
- Last updated
- 2 Jul 2017
- Results posted
- No
Publications
Caughey AB, Washington AE, Laros RK Jr. Neonatal complications of term pregnancy: rates by gestational age increase in a continuous, not threshold, fashion. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005 Jan;192(1):185-90. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2004.06.068.
PubMed 15672023Caughey AB, Musci TJ. Complications of term pregnancies beyond 37 weeks of gestation. Obstet Gynecol. 2004 Jan;103(1):57-62. doi: 10.1097/01.AOG.0000109216.24211.D4.
PubMed 14704245Caughey AB, Stotland NE, Escobar GJ. What is the best measure of maternal complications of term pregnancy: ongoing pregnancies or pregnancies delivered? Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003 Oct;189(4):1047-52. doi: 10.1067/s0002-9378(03)00897-4.
PubMed 14586353
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Jul 2017. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Behavioral and Environmental Factors and Time to Delivery
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00740506
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 999908199
- Conditions
- Pregnancy
- Keywords
- Behavioral, Environmental, Delivery, Pregnancy
- Phase
- Phase 4
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 510 participants
- Lead sponsor
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)US National Institutes of Health
- Study start
- 20 Aug 2008
- Primary completion
- 13 Jul 2009 (actual)
- Study completion
- 13 Jul 2009 (actual)
- First posted
- 25 Aug 2008 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study, conducted at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, CA, will determine if having vaginal intercourse in the last weeks of pregnancy decreases the risk of having a prolonged pregnancy. Pregnancies that continue beyond the due date may increase health risks for the mother and the baby. Although some believe that vaginal intercourse can help start labor in the last weeks of pregnancy, there is not proof that it works. Some studies showed that sexual intercourse helped and some that pregnancy lasted even longer for couples having sex. In addition to exploring the effect of sexual intercourse on time to delivery, this study will collect information that can be used in the future to predict when labor will naturally start and the risk for overdue pregnancies.
Women 18 years of age and older in their first pregnancy who are carrying a single fetus with gestational age before 38 plus 6 weeks may be eligible for this study. Candidates must be living with their partner in a stable relationship.
Participants are asked to have sexual intercourse about three times per week. They complete a diary in which they record the times they have intercourse and how they are feeling daily. The diaries are submitted by mail each week or at the doctor's or midwife's visit until delivery. The women have a pelvic exam and ultrasound and complete questionnaires about problems during pregnancy, overall well-being, attitude toward induction of labor, physical activity, body image during pregnancy, stress and social support, habits at home, and environmental conditions, such as weather.
Detailed description
Risks of maternal and neonatal complications, even fetal death, increase with prolonged gestation. Recent studies suggest that the risks may start to increase even before 40 weeks of gestation, which challenges the current paradigm of induction after 41 weeks. Preliminary findings seem to suggest that induction before 40 weeks may actually reduce the risk of cesarean delivery. However, induction in women with an unripe cervix has a high risk of failed induction and cesarean delivery. Cervical ripening at hospital prior to induction is also associated with substantial costs and inconvenience to the woman.
Vaginal intercourse in late pregnancy has long been known to women to accelerate the onset of labor. It is recommended by many physicians and nurses to prevent prolonged pregnancy. However, scientific evidence to support this common practice is scarce and inconsistent. We propose a prospective observational study to assess the effects of frequent intercourse on the timing of delivery in term pregnancies.
A total of 510 nulliparous women with low risk pregnancies will be recruited during their antenatal visit after 36 plus 6 and before 39 plus 0 weeks of gestation at the Naval Medical Center San Diego. Subjects who have had infrequent intercourse (less than once per week) during the last four weeks before their visit will be asked to abstain from intercourse for the duration of pregnancy (or use condoms) (we expect to recruit 255 women in this subgroup). Subjects having vaginal intercourse more than once per week during the last four weeks will be asked to maintain or increase their frequency of intercourse up to three times a week (we expect to recruit 255 women for this subgroup). Women will be asked to record physical conditions and vaginal intercourse in a diary until delivery. An ultrasound will assess fetal biometry and cervical length and volume. A pelvic exam will calculate Bishop Score. Obstetric information will be extracted from medical records after birth. Time to delivery and rate of cesarean delivery will be compared between the women without sex and women with frequent sex. The effects of intercourse at term on time to delivery and cesarean delivery may have important clinical implications.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
Who may qualify
- Sex
- Female only
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- 18 years or older
- Singleton pregnancy
- First birth
- Gestational age before 38 plus 6 weeks
Key exclusion criteria (13 listed)
- ART (IVF or ICSI)
- Maternal heart disease
- Gestational Diabetes, mellitus on insulin or pills
- Scheduled induction of labor or Cesarean section
- Breech presentation
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency of Intercourse | Behavioural | – |
Primary outcome
Time to delivery
1 secondary outcome
Rate of cesarean delivery
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Jul 2017.
- Background: PubMed 15672023Caughey AB, Washington AE, Laros RK Jr. Neonatal complications of term pregnancy: rates by gestational age increase in a continuous, not threshold, fashion. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005 Jan;192(1):185-90. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2004.06.068.
- Background: PubMed 14704245Caughey AB, Musci TJ. Complications of term pregnancies beyond 37 weeks of gestation. Obstet Gynecol. 2004 Jan;103(1):57-62. doi: 10.1097/01.AOG.0000109216.24211.D4.
- Background: PubMed 14586353Caughey AB, Stotland NE, Escobar GJ. What is the best measure of maternal complications of term pregnancy: ongoing pregnancies or pregnancies delivered? Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003 Oct;189(4):1047-52. doi: 10.1067/s0002-9378(03)00897-4.
Related trials for Pregnancy
Recruiting
Methylation Profiling in Self-Samples for Identification of (Epi)Genetic Biomarkers for Gynecological Cancers
Gynaecological Cancers, Ovarian Cancer
RecruitingPhase 1/2
Study of INBRX-106 and INBRX-106 in Combination With Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) in Subjects With Locally Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumors (Hexavalent OX40 Agonist)
Solid Tumor, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
RecruitingObservational study
Population Pharmacokinetics of Temocillin in Acute Enterobacterial Pyelonephritis in Children
Pyelonephritis
Active, not recruitingPhase 3
A Study of Belzutifan (MK-6482) in Combination With Lenvatinib Versus Cabozantinib for Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma (MK-6482-011)
Carcinoma, Renal Cell
Recruiting
Safety and Performance of UCon Patch Electrode
Urinary Incontinence, Urinary Incontinence, Urge
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 4 study testing Frequency of Intercourse in people with Pregnancy, run by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 13 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Jul 2017. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 4 studies take place after a treatment is approved, to learn more about its long-term benefits and risks in everyday use.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Time to delivery. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00740506, which also lists 3 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Jul 2017.