Interpretation
Our results pin-point the difficulties in identifying clinical tools of timely prediction of adverse neonatal outcomes associated to chorioamnionitis. We observed a strong association between highest measured CRP and positive cervical culture with neonatal infection. Importantly, it reflects the dynamic nature of CRP, with a characteristic slow increase in response to inflammation. Thus, CRP has limited usefulness in predicting neonatal outcomes prior to delivery. Likewise, the result from a cervical culture will similarly take at least 24 hours to be analyzed. Nevertheless, our findings underline the importance of prioritizing a continuous collaboration between obstetric and neonatal care extending past the delivery time point to communicate emerging maternal symptoms which could affect neonatal care.