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Prenatal Behavioral Intervention to Prevent Maternal Cytomegalovirus (CMV) in Pregnancy

Prenatal Behavioral Intervention to Prevent Maternal Cytomegalovirus (CMV) in Pregnancy

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04615715
Enrollment
582
Registered
2020-11-04
Start date
2021-01-11
Completion date
2026-03-31
Last updated
2026-04-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cytomegalovirus Congenital, Maternal Cytomegalovirus Infections

Brief summary

This study will evaluate whether a brief prenatal clinic-based cytomegalovirus (CMV) risk-reduction behavioral intervention will prevent maternal CMV infections during pregnancy in women.

Detailed description

Pregnant women will be recruited into the study following their first prenatal visit. After enrollment, they will be randomized to either the CMV risk-reduction intervention or an attention-matched control stress-reduction group stratified by their CMV serostatus. Women in both groups will attend an individualized behavioral skills session, watch a short video, receive a take-home packet, receive weekly text messages for 12 weeks that reinforce the experimental and control health messages, and attend follow-up visits at 6 and 12 weeks. Saliva, urine, vaginal, and blood specimens will be collected at enrollment and 6 and 12 weeks follow-up visits. Additionally, at-home saliva and vaginal specimen collection will occur at 3 and 9 weeks and once during the third trimester of pregnancy. At delivery, a saliva specimen will be collected from both the mother and infant, along with a remnant cord blood specimen.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALCMV Risk-Reduction Intervention

CMV Risk-Reduction Intervention

BEHAVIORALStress Reduction Messaging

Stress Reduction Messaging

Sponsors

University of Alabama at Birmingham
Lead SponsorOTHER
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Laboratory personnel will not know the participant's intervention status.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
14 Years to 39 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* enrollment in prenatal care before 20 weeks gestation * absence of CMV IgG on serological testing indicating CMV seronegative status or CMV positive (nonprimary) defined as maternal CMV infection pre-dating pregnancy defined by a high IgG avidity index or a positive CMV IgG in the presence of a negative CMV immunoglobulin M (IgM)

Exclusion criteria

* known major fetal anomalies or demise * planned termination of pregnancy * planned use of immune globulin, ganciclovir, or valganciclovir * maternal immune impairment (e.g., HIV infection, organ transplant on anti-rejection medications) * pre-enrollment ultrasound suggestive of established fetal CMV infection or positive fetal CMV results from culture or PCR * pre-enrollment CMV seroconversion or primary CMV infection in pregnancy * unable to determine if CMV infection is a nonprimary infection due to intermediate or undefined CMV serological test results * pre-enrollment blood, ultrasound, or amniotic fluid testing indicating congenital infection with rubella, syphilis, varicella, parvovirus, toxoplasmosis or other congenital infection * intention of the patient or of the managing obstetricians for the delivery to be outside of the University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
CMV seroconversion rate in CMV seronegative womenEnrollment (baseline) until delivery, up to 32 weeksCMV seroconversion is defined as the development of CMV immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody in the serum of women who did not have antibodies previously. The CMV seroconversion rate will be assessed in participants.
CMV reinfections in women with non-primary infectionsEnrollment(baseline) until delivery, up to 32 weeksReinfection will be defined by a combination of strain-specific serologic assays, next-generation sequencing, and virus shedding. The number of CMV reinfections will be assessed in participants.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in self-reported CMV risk behaviors and protective behaviorsEnrollment (baseline) to 12 weeks after enrollment (follow-up)Change in the CMV risk behaviors and protective behaviors self-reported on the CMV risk behaviors questionnaire at 12 weeks post intervention.
Frequency of CMV sheddingEnrollment(baseline) until delivery, up to 32 weeksNumber of participants shedding CMV in their specimens collected during pregnancy. CMV shedding is indicated by the presence of CMV DNA by polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR) in saliva, urine, vaginal, or blood specimens.
Proportion of infants with congenital CMVDeliveryThe proportion of infants with a positive saliva PCR test for CMV in the first 21 days of life.
Frequency of new CMV variantsEnrollment(baseline) until delivery up to 32 weeksNumber of participants with new CMV variants identified by a combination of serological screening assays and next generation sequencing of viral DNA.

Countries

United States

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORKaren B Fowler

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Apr 4, 2026