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.