POSTPARTUM STRESS URINARY INCONTINENCE AND SOME RELATED FACTORS

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) has many medical-psychosocial effects on womens life and in approximately 40% of patients it is a major problem in daily life. It has been reported that the prevalence after delivery was about 6-29% in different studies. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of SUI after delivery and some related factors.METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 450 women delivered in Babol who referred two months after delivery to therapeutic and health centers of Babol, Iran. A questionnaire about some personal, social and reproductive variables and some questions about SUI were filled out. Then, they were visited and examined by the gynecologist to determine the volume and severity of SUI. Then data were analyzed by t-test and Fishers exact test.FINDINGS: The results showed that 81(18%) women had SUI after delivery. Women with SUI were significantly older than women without it (p=0.0001). Numbers of delivery in women with incontinence were more than women without it. SUI was lower in women who had episiotomy (p=0.005). There was no significant difference between methods of delivery to achieve SUI. There were no significant differences between two groups in birth weight, head circumference, women body mass index (BMI).CONCLUSION: The results showed that age and numbers of delivery were determinant factors for developing SUI, but womens BMI, birth weight and head circumstance of neonate and method of delivery had no effect on SUI