Risk of new-onset urinary incontinence 3 and 12 months after vaginal or cesarean delivery of twins: Part I.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Our purpose was to compare the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) 3 and 12 months after vaginal vs cesarean delivery of twins after 34 weeks of gestation. METHODS: This was a multicenter prospective cohort study conducted at 172 French maternity units and included 2812 primiparous women with twins with no prior history of UI. Participants were enrolled at the time of delivery and followed up to 12 months postpartum. The primary outcome was the prevalence of UI, both stress and urge, 3 months postpartum, based on the patient reporting any frequency of urine leakage to the first question of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire - Short Form (ICIQ-SF). The Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory - Short Form 20 (PFDI-20), Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire - Short Form 7 (PFIQ-7), Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12), and Medical Outcome Study Short Form-12 (SF-12) were also used. RESULTS: The ICIQ-SF was completed by 1155 (39.8%) and 800 (27.5%) women, respectively, at 3 and 12 months postpartum; 556 (48%) had delivered vaginally and 599 (52%) by cesarean section. The prevalence of UI at 3 months was 26% overall and was significantly higher in the vaginal delivery group at both 3 months (35% vs 17% in the cesarean group, p < 0.0001) and 12 months postpartum (38% vs 24%, p < 0.0001). UI was predominantly stress or mixed. The risk factors for UI at 3 months, determined by multivariate modeling, were vaginal delivery [odds ratio (OR) 3.073, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.3-4.105, p < 0.0001) and body mass index >25 in early pregnancy (OR 1.620, 95% CI 1.188-2.209, p = 0.0023). CONCLUSIONS: Vaginal delivery is a risk factor for UI at 3 months after twin birth.

Impact of mode of delivery of twins on the pelvic floor 3 and 12 months post-partum-part II.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: To compare the impact of vaginal delivery (VD) versus cesarean section (CS) on the pelvic floor in twin primiparae at 3 and 12 months postpartum. METHODS: This comparative multicenter prospective cohort from a large French national cohort study consisted of primiparas who gave birth to live twins after 34 weeks of gestation. The primary end point was the postnatal urinary incontinence rate 3 months postpartum. The secondary end points were the pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) at 3 and 12 months based on PFDI-20, PFIQ-7, PISQ-12, and SF-12 responses. RESULTS: A total of 2812 patients in 172 French maternity units were recruited between February 2014 and March 2015: 1076 (38%) responded at 3 and 12 months (61% at 3 months); 1155 were analyzed at 3 months (556 VD and 599 CS) and 800 at 12 months (394 VD and 406 CS). VD was associated with more symptoms at 3 months [median PFDI-20 score 25/300 (8-50) vs. 17/300 (4-36) after CS; p < 0.0001]. Vaginal bulge was more frequently reported after VD (9 vs. 4%; p = 0.0015). Abdnormal PFD-related quality-of-life scores (scores > 0) were more frequent after VD at 3 months (58 vs. 42%; p < 0.0001) and 12 months (57 vs. 43%; p = 0.0020), indicating greater discomfort. However, SF-12 scores were higher after VD [56 (53-59) vs. 55 (51-58)] at 12 months, indicating better general quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Mode of delivery is significantly associated with pelvic organ prolapse symptoms 3 months postpartum, which regress by 12 months, probably because of the known spontaneous postnatal improvement of PFDs.

Are we performing episiotomies correctly? A study to evaluate French technique in a high-risk maternity unit.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate episiotomy technique, in particular suture angles, and any correlation between suture angle and severe perineal tears. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An observational questionnaire-based study was conducted between 01 August 2015 and 30 April 2016 among accoucheurs performing episiotomies in a French maternity unit with facilities for high-risk pregnancies. For each patient included, accoucheurs were asked to measure the episiotomy suture angle, and to record the angle at which they thought they had cut, the length of the episiotomy, its distance from the anus, and whether the woman sustained a sphincter injury. RESULTS: The centre's episiotomy rate during the study period was 15%. We analyzed the characteristics of episiotomies performed on 89 women (68 by doctors and 21 by midwives). Only 43% of suture angles were between 45° and 60° (45.6% of those performed by doctors vs 38.1% by midwives, p=0.8623), whereas 91% of accoucheurs thought they had cut within the correct range. Doctors made longer incisions than midwives (4 [4.2-5.0] vs 3 [2.5-3.5] cm, p=0.0006). Only 40.5% of accoucheurs correctly estimated the incision angle. Twelve (13.64%) of the 88 women sustained a third-degree perineal tear. The risk of sphincter injury was higher with suture angles <45° (odds ratio 5.46 [1.11-26.75], p=0.037). After multivariate analysis, this result was no longer significant (p=0.079). CONCLUSION: It appears that many accoucheurs have difficulty estimating episiotomy incision angles correctly and that education and training in this domain requires improvement.