Symptoms of anal and urinary incontinence following cesarean section or spontaneous vaginal delivery.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to compare the prevalence of incontinence disorders in relation with spontaneous vaginal delivery or cesarean section.

STUDY

DESIGN

Two hundred women with spontaneous vaginal deliveries only were compared with 195 women with cesarean deliveries only 10 years after first delivery.

RESULTS

When compared with cesarean section, vaginal delivery was associated with an increased frequency of stress urinary incontinence (P = .006) and an increased use of protective pads (P = .008) as well as an increased frequency of fecal urgency (P = .048) and gas incontinence (P = .01). At multivariate regression analysis, mode of delivery showed no significant association with incontinence symptoms other than an increased risk for flatus incontinence in women with a history of obstetric anal sphincter injury (odds ratio 3.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 8.9).

CONCLUSION

Incontinence symptoms are more common following spontaneous vaginal delivery when compared with cesarean section 10 years after first delivery. However, cesarean section is not associated with a major reduction of anal and urinary incontinence.