University of Wisconsin–Madison ⋅ Medical College of Wisconsin
WMJ

Barometric Pressure Drops and Premature Rupture of Membranes

Timothy E. Klatt, MD; Christy D. South, MD; Aniko Szabo, PhD

WMJ. 2025;124(5):421-424.

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ABSTRACT

Introduction: Many patients and health care providers believe that barometric pressure drops increase the incidence of premature rupture of membranes (PROM). To test this, we studied high risk women living near a weather station.

Methods: This cohort chart review study investigated 189 PROMs, diagnosed between 24 and 42 weeks gestation, at Wheaton Franciscan-St Joseph Campus, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data from the 24 hours preceding each PROM occurrence were analyzed. The sample provided 91% power to detect a two-fold increase in the PROM rate.

Results: The PROM rate, 9.5%, within the 24 hours following a NOAA-defined substantial pressure drop, was similar to that predicted using the percentage of the total study period time within 24 hours after a substantial pressure drop, 10.8%, (P = .64). The findings for within 3, 6, and 12 hours after a substantial pressure drop were similar.

Conclusions: The incidence of PROM does not increase following substantial atmospheric pressure drops.

Author affiliations: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Klatt); Mat-Su Women’s Health Specialists, Palmer, Alaska (South); Institute for Health and Society, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Szabo).
Corresponding author: Timothy E. Klatt, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 9200 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53226; email tklatt@mcw.edu; ORCID ID 0000-0003-2314-3664
Financial disclosures: None declared.
Funding/support: This work was supported, in part, by grant 1UL1RR031973 from the Clinical and Translational Science Award program of the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health.
Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Scott E. Stephens, BS, from the NOAA/NESDIS/National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina for providing the weather data and helping them to understand the Milwaukee climate.
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