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Objective: To assess the prevalence of the urinary tract infection (UTI), urinary incontinence (UI), anal incontinence (AI) and dyspareunia among primiparous women, as well as to identify the association between dyspareunia and UI and mode of birth. Material and methods: Prospective observational study carried out with 96 post-partum women (72 normal births and 24 caesarean section), two and six months after birth. Data were collected via prenatal cards, medical registers and interviews with women between January and August, 2014, at the Centro do Parto Normal do Pronto Socorro e Maternidade Municipal Zoraide Eva das Dores, located in Itapecerica da Serra, São Paulo, and at Health Centers in the Itapecerica da Serra and the cities of Juquitiba, São Lourenço and Embú-Guaçú. Results: During pregnancy, 52.1% of women reported UTI and 30.2%, UI. Two and six months after birth, there was a prevalence of 4.2% and 11.8% of UTI, 17.7% and 11.8% of UI, 8.4% of AI (6.3% of flatus incontinence and 2.1% of feces) and 2.0% (only flatus incontinence; there was no faecal incontinence); and 48.1% and 17.8% of dyspareunia, respectively. There was no statistical association between the mode of delivery and dyspareunia and UI (p=0.742 and p=0.738; respectively). Conclusions: The most frequent pelvic floor dysfunctions (PFD) after birth were IU and dyspareunia. There was spontaneous reduction of the PFD in the sixth month after birth. The early identification of these diseases is extremely important to prevent, diagnose and treat any harm to women's physical and emotional health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: to compare the pelvic floor muscle strength in primiparous women after normal birth and cesarean section, related to the socio-demographic characteristics, nutritional status, dyspareunia, urinary incontinence, perineal exercise in pregnancy, perineal condition and weight of the newborn. Methods: this was a cross-sectional study conducted after 50 - 70 postpartum days, with 24 primiparous women who underwent cesarean delivery and 72 who had a normal birth. The 9301 PeritronTM was used for analysis of muscle strength. The mean muscle strength was compared between the groups by two-way analysis of variance. Results: the pelvic floor muscle strength was 24.0 cmH2O (±16.2) and 25.4 cmH2O (±14.7) in postpartum primiparous women after normal birth and cesarean section, respectively, with no significant difference. The muscular strength was greater in postpartum women with ≥ 12 years of study (42.0 ±26.3 versus 14.6 ±7.7 cmH2O; p= 0.036) and in those who performed perineal exercises (42.6±25.4 11.8±4.9 vs. cmH2O; p = 0.010), compared to caesarean. There was no difference in muscle strength according to delivery type regarding nutritional status, dyspareunia, urinary incontinence, perineal condition or newborn weight. Conclusion: pelvic floor muscle strength does not differ between primiparous women based on the type of delivery. Postpartum women with normal births, with higher education who performed perineal exercise during pregnancy showed greater muscle strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To identify the frequency and maternal and neonatal factors associated with meconium-stained amniotic fluid at birth. METHODS: Cross-sectional study carried out with 2,441 births at an inhospital birth center in the city of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, in March and April, 2005. The association between meconium-stained amniotic fluid and the independent variables (maternal age, parity, previous c-section or not, gestational age, obstetric history, oxytocin use in the labor, cervical dilation at admission, mode of current delivery, newborn weight, Apgar score at the 1st and 5th minute) was expressed as prevalence ratio (PR). RESULTS: Meconium-stained amniotic fluid was verified in 11.9% of the births; 68.2% of these were normal births and 38.8% c-sections. Meconium was associated with: primiparity (PR = 1.49 95%CI 1.29;1.73), gestational age ≥ 41 weeks (PR = 5.05, 95%CI 1.93;13.25), oxytocin in labor (PR = 1.83, 95%CI 1.60;2.10), c-section (PR = 2.65, 95%CI 2.17;3.24) and Apgar scores < 7 at the 5th minute (PR = 2.96, 95%CI 2.94;2.99). Neonatal mortality was 1.6/1,000 live births. Meconium-stained amniotic fluid was found in 50% of neonatal deaths and it was associated with higher rates of surgical deliveries. CONCLUSIONS: Oxytocin use, worse conditions of the newborn after the delivery and increased c-section rates were factors associated with meconiumstained amniotic fluid. Routine use of oxytocin in the intrapartum period could be evaluated due to its association with meconium-stained amniotic fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to analyse the Redness, Oedema, Ecchymosis, Discharge, Approximation (REEDA) scale reliability when evaluating perineal healing after a normal delivery with a right mediolateral episiotomy. Method: observational study based on data from a clinical trial conducted with 54 randomly selected women, who had their perineal healing assessed at four time points, from 6 hours to 10 days after delivery, by nurses trained in the use of this scale. The kappa coefficient was used in the reliability analysis of the REEDA scale. Results: the results indicate good agreement in the evaluation of the discharge item (0.75< Kappa ≥0.88), marginal and good agreement in the first three assessments of oedema (0.16< Kappa ≥0.46), marginal agreement in the evaluation of ecchymosis (0.25< Kappa ≥0.42) and good agreement regarding redness (0.46< Kappa ≥0.66). For the item coaptation, the agreement decreased from excellent in the first assessment to good in the last assessment. In the fourth evaluation, the assessment of all items displayed excellent or good agreement among the evaluators. Conclusion: the difference in the scores among the evaluators when applying the scale indicates that this tool must be improved to allow an accurate assessment of the episiotomy healing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]