The risk of urinary incontinence of parous women who delivered only by cesarean section

Objectives: To evaluate the association of route of delivery with prevalence of urinary incontinence. Methods: Women with menopause who consulted at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, were interviewed and examined to detect urinary incontinence. Obstetrics history and other possible factors that could influence incontinence were also recorded, Results: Urinary incontinence was diagnosed in 98 women (cases) while 91 were free of this problem. The risk of urinary incontinence was approximately five times higher among women with one or more pregnancies than among nulligravida, and 3.5 times higher among women who had had only cesarean sections than among nullipara. Conclusions: Women cannot prevent urinary incontinence by delivering exclusively by cesarean section. (C) 2001 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. All rights reserved.