Urinary incontinence three months after delivery; prevalence and risk factors

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to investigate prevalence of urinary incontinence at 3 months postpartum and to study how continence status during pregnancy and different factors influence urinary incontinence at 3 months postpartum in primiparous women. Pregnant women attending routine antenatal clinic at Ziauddin hospital and Kharader general hospital Karachi were recruited to this study. Urinary incontinence before and during pregnancy was assessed at study enrolment early in the third trimester. Incontinence was re-assessed three months postpartum. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the role of maternal and obstetric factors in causing postpartum urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence was reported in 15 women [10.6%] out of 141 women, mode of delivery, onset of labor weight of the baby, episiotomy, and the length of the second stage of labor, were not predictive of urinary incontinence after delivery. Adjusted RR for incontinence after spontaneous vaginal delivery compared with elective caesarean section was 2.200 [95% CI .6-7.28] among women who were continent during pregnancy. Urinary incontinence was prevalent 3 months postpartum. The association between incontinence postpartum mode of delivery, onset of labor, perineal trauma and weight of baby was not statistically significant