Is vaginal douching associated with preterm delivery?

Background: To examine the hypothesized association between vaginal douching and preterm delivery, we conducted a study among women in a managed care organization in Atlanta, GA.

Methods: We drew a stratified random sample of 262 preterm (20-36 weeks' gestation) and 804 term deliveries that occurred between January 1996 and April 1997. Data were collected from telephone interviews and medical records.