Premature rupture of amniotic sac membranes (PROM) increases risks of complication to both mother and infant. It increases the risk of premature birth particularly when it occurs at or before the 36th week of gestation. The purposes of the proposal is to study the epidemiologic factors associated with PROM. A matched case-control method will be used. Consenting mothers will be classified by pregnancy outcome into three groups: women with PROM occuring at (i) at less than 36 weeks gestation, (ii) at greater than 37 weeks of gestation, and (iii) women giving birth witout PROM to premature infants gestation less than 36 weeks). Each woman in the three groups will be singly matched by age, race, and parity to mothers of infants born vaginally or by C-section at term at greater than 39 weeks of gestation. Women will be interviewed within 72 hours of live delivery or within 14 +/- 2 days of delivery in case of death or seriously ill infants, by a trained interviewer. Data to be collected will include sociodemographic data, cigarette smoking data, gynecologic data including complications of previous and index pregnancy, and data about sexual activity before and during pregnancy. The data will be analyzed to show which factors are associated with increased risk of PROM occurring.
