Maternal Effects of Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) Treatment in Pregnancy

This is a randomized, placebo-controlled intervention trial. Women diagnosed as BV+ by Gram stain at 12-16 weeks gestation are randomly assigned to the following treatment groups: oral metronidazole (250 mg TID x 7 days) with intravaginal placebo; intravaginal metronidazole (5g 0.75% gel BID x 5 days) with oral placebo. African American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, and white women are eligible. Women with a prior preterm delivery, multiple gestation, chronic hypertension or pre-existing diabetes, antibiotic use before enrollment in the study, allergy to metronidazole, history of alcohol abuse in past year, and women under age 18 are excluded.