POSTPARTUM URINARY RETENTION FOLLOWING VAGINAL DELIVERY

Abstract

Objectives: This study was undertaken to determine the incidence of postpartum urinary
retention after vaginal delivery and to examine the associated risk factors and the
prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuric urinary retention post delivery.
Study design: This is a prospective observational study carried out over a 2-month period
at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Obafemi Awolowo University
Teaching Hospital Complex Ile-Ife.
Results: Incidence of postpartum urinary retention was 29.4%. Majority (93.3%) had
covert urinary retention while 6.7% of women had overt urinary retention, in all cases, the
problem had resolved before discharge from the hospital. The prevalence of
asymptomatic bacteriuria was 53.3% among women with post partum urinary retention.
From the bivariate analysis episiotomy, reduced voiding desired and primiparity were
risk factors for postpartum urinary retention, (66.6% Vs 30.6%; p= 0.017), (47.75% Vs
13.9%; p= 0.037) and (60.0% Vs 30.6%; p=0.05) respectively.
Conclusion: Postpartum urinary retention, particularly covert retention, is a common
complication of labour and delivery in our clinical practice but rarely reported in the
literature. No factor has been found to be independently associated with its occurrence
hence there is need for vigilance post delivery because the use of ultrasound for screening
is not cost effective, most cases of urinary retention would have been avoided if women
were encouraged to void early following delivery.

POSTPARTUM URINARY RETENTION FOLLOWING VAGINAL DELIVERY