title: Postpartum urinary symptoms: prevalence and risk factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of urinary symptoms, the relationship between urinary symptoms and vaginal descent, and the association between urinary symptoms and obstetric factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five hundred and thirty-seven women were interviewed and underwent a urogynaecological evaluation 3 months after vaginal delivery. Quantitative-type variables were subjected to Student's t test. Simple logistic regression analyses were carried out on the symptoms studied as a function of risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  8.2% of primiparae showed stress urinary incontinence and multiparae in 20% (P=0.0001); urge incontinence was present in 5.5% of primiparae and in 13% of multiparae (P=0.004). Significant correlations were found among operative vaginal delivery, dysuria (P=0.048) and frequency (P=0.036). Urinary incontinence appeared associated with induced labour with prostaglandins (P=0.018) and with general maternal factors, such as parity (P=0.001) and elevated weight at the beginning of pregnancy (P=0.019).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is likely that the pathogenesis of postpartum urinary incontinence includes not only the effects of pelvic floor trauma on urethrovesical mobility under stress, but also a deficiency in urethral resistance caused by drugs, such as prostaglandins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, I.R.C.C.S. Burlo Garofolo, University of Trieste, Via dell'Istria 65/1, 34137, Trieste, Italy. pregazzi@burlo.trieste.it
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pregazzi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sartore
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Troiano
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bortoli
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siracusano
authors.forename: Secondo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guaschino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007748:Labor Stage, Second; D007751:Labor, Induced / Q000009:adverse effects; D008423:Maternal Age; D010298:Parity; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000503:physiopathology; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D014555:Urination Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015430:Weight Gain