We agree that our study lacked power to look at the relationship between bacterial vaginosis in early pregnancy and preterm birth. It was originally designed to look at the relation between bacterial vaginosis and miscarriage before 16 weeks' gestation.1 However, when we found that few women diagnosed with bacterial vag-inosis were being treated, we extended the follow-up period to look at preterm birth.
Verstraelen et al correctly point out that (as with many primary care-based studies) recruitment was a major challenge and varied widely between practices. Although partic-ipants were broadly representative in terms of age and ethnicity, there was a preponderance of women from higher socioeconomic groups. The main positive conclusion from our study is that screening for bacterial vaginosis and chlamydial infection using self-taken swabs is feasible even during pregnancy.
- © British Journal of General Practice, 2004.
