title: Medical complications during pregnancy and childbirth in women with SCI in Switzerland.
abstract: METHODS
  A retrospective interview study of mothers with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) who gave birth over the last 15 years.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify the medical complications of women with SCIs during pregnancy and childbirth in Switzerland and to describe how they dealt with these complications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Swiss Paraplegic Research in Nottwil, the University of Lausanne and participants' homes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected by self-reported questionnaires and descriptive analysis was conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen women with SCIs who gave birth to 23 children were included. Thirteen of the women were paraplegics and four were tetraplegics. All of them practiced an independent bladder management. Three women changed their bladder management techniques during pregnancy. Five women reported an increased bladder evacuation frequency during pregnancy, and six women reported a new onset or increase in incontinence. We observed no significant increase in bowel dysfunction or skin breakdown due to their pregnancies. Ten women were hospitalised during the course of their pregnancies. Aside from urinary tract infections/pyelonephritis, women were hospitalised for falls, hypertension, pneumonia, preeclampsia, pre-term labour or tachycardia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study clearly demonstrated that, although medical complications are not infrequent during pregnancy in women with SCIs, pregnancy and delivery in this group of women are possible without posing intolerable risks to the mothers or the children. Urological problems seemed to be the most frequent complication during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Paraplegic Research (SPF), Nottwil, Switzerland.|Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, University of Lucerne and SPF, Nottwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bertschy
authors.affiliation: Swiss Paraplegic Research (SPF), Nottwil, Switzerland.|Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, University of Lucerne and SPF, Nottwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bostan
authors.affiliation: Hannover Medical School, Institute for Epidemiology, Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Neuro-Urology, Swiss Paraplegic Center (SPZ), Nottwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pannek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000150:complications; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000150:complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland