Stress urinary incontinence: pre-pregnancy history and effects of mode of delivery on its postpartum persistency.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to determine the prevalence of mild stress urinary incontinence (SUI) 1 year postpartum in relation to mode of delivery and pre-pregnancy SUI. METHODS: This cohort study was performed on 618 primiparous women who delivered by elective cesarean section and NVD. Development of SUI during pregnancy till 12 months after delivery was studied. Frequency of mild SUI among patients with and without pre-pregnancy SUI was compared at the ante-partum (RR, 5.75), 40 days postpartum (RR, 9.3), 3 months postpartum (RR, 10.1), 6 months postpartum (RR, 10.1), and 12 months postpartum (RR, 16.8). RESULTS: Regarding the mode of delivery, incidence of SUI showed significant difference at 40 days, 3 and 6 months postpartum in both patients with and without pre-pregnancy history of SUI (P<0.05, all groups). CONCLUSION: The mode of delivery had significant effect on the persistency of SUI up to 6 months postpartum, while pre-pregnancy SUI revealed such effect till 1 year.