The effects of mode of delivery and time since birth on chronic pelvic pain and health-related quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effects of mode of delivery and time since birth on chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among primiparous Chinese women.


METHODS
Primiparous women of childbearing age who had given birth at least 6months previously were invited to participate in the present cross-sectional study, which was conducted from October 2011 to April 2012 in the Chaoyang District of Beijing. Time since birth was divided into the following 4 periods: less than 1year, 1-5years, 6-10years, and more than 10years. The factors associated with CPP status were analyzed using logistic regression.


RESULTS
Among the 1456 participants, CPP was more common following cesarean delivery (11.2% versus 6.9% among women with a vaginal delivery; P=0.007), and the rate of CPP increased with time since birth (2.3%, 9.3%, 10.7%, and 13.1% for the 4 specified time periods, respectively (P<0.001). Cesarean delivery, longer time since birth, and CPP were all associated with a lower HRQoL utility score.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the absolute risks were small, cesarean delivery and time since birth were significant risk factors for CPP, which had a negative impact on the participants' HRQoL.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Hospital of Tsinghua University and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Epidemiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand. Electronic address: muziwen9999@hotmail.com.
Wen-Ying
WY
Li
Epidemiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand.
Tippawan
T
Liabsuetrakul
Division of Women and Children, Rikshospitalet, Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Babill
B
Stray-Pedersen
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Hospital of Tsinghua University and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Ya-Jun
YJ
Li
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Hospital of Tsinghua University and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Li-Jie
LJ
Guo
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Hospital of Tsinghua University and Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Wen-Zhi
WZ
Qin
D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000009:adverse effects; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D017699:Pelvic Pain / Q000209:etiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011247:Pregnancy; D011788:Quality of Life; D012307:Risk Factors
Cesarean delivery; Chronic pelvic pain; Health-related quality of life; Mode of delivery; Time since birth