title: Postpartum vaginal atrophy.
abstract: Postpartum vaginal atrophy has been briefly noted without adequate clinical description. We present a study of 215 puerperas at a scheduled 4-week postpartum visit, investigating colorpHast vaginal pH, vestibular cotton swab testing, vaginal wall tenderness, and both fixed and wet mount cytologic studies. Thirty-seven patients with vaginal atrophy (17.2%) had a mean pH of 6.55 with a mean maturation index of 49.2% parabasal, 46.5% intermediate, and 4.3% superficial cells. Eighty patients (37.2%) served as control subjects, with a mean maturation index of 0.3% parabasal, 73.6% intermediate, and 26.1% superficial cells, and a mean vaginal pH of 4.68. Ninety-eight patients (45.6%) were excluded for multiple confounding conditions, the most common of which was bacterial vaginosis in 37 (17.2%). This study demonstrates the existence of postpartum vaginal atrophy, notes lactation as an apparent causal factor, and establishes a statistically significant (p less than 0.0001) relationship between vaginal pH and maturation index. Further studies are needed to confirm therapeutic efficacy of estrogens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Wisniewski
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
mesh_terms: D001284:Atrophy; D001942:Breast Feeding; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004966:Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007774:Lactation; D011247:Pregnancy; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014621:Vagina / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D004966:Estrogens, Conjugated (USP)