Comparison of Stress urinary incontinence four months after normal vaginal delivery and elective cesarean section

Introduction: Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) is a very common problem in adult women and its etiology is multifactorial. Due to different viewpoints in the prevalence and causes of SUI in previous studies, this study was performed with aim to compare the prevalence of SUI four months after vaginal delivery and elective cesarean section and the effective factors. Methods: This analytical study was conducted on 1520 primiparous women in Kermanshah medical-health centers in 2010. The first group had normal vaginal delivery four months ago and the second group underwent elective cesarean section. Sandvik questionnaire and medical records were used to evaluate the severity and factors effective on SUI. Data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software (version 16) and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Levene test, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney and chi square-test. PResults: The prevalence of stress urinary incontinence four months after vaginal delivery was 3. After vaginal delivery and elective cesarean section, the prevalence was 4.3, and 1.87, respectively, significant difference was observed between the two groups (P = 0.006). There was a significant relationship between SUI with maternal age (P=0.001), maternal BMI (P=0.043) and neonatal weight (P=0.042), but there was no significant relationship with head circumference (P=0.943) and episiotomy (P=1.0). The two groups of vaginal delivery and elective cesarean section were not significantly different in terms of severe SUI (P=1.0). Conclusions: Mode of delivery, neonate's weight, maternal age and BMI increase the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence four months after delivery, but normal vaginal delivery does not cause severe SUI.