[Non-invasive diagnosis of pre- and postpartum urination disorders]

Postpartal disorders of urinary discharge due to birth trauma are frequently the cause of rising infections of the urinary tract during the puerperium. In diagnosis, noninvasive methods should be preferred. Bladder-emptying function was checked by means of uroflowmetry and sonographic measurement of residual urine in 83 patients at the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the RWTH, Aachen, in the third trimester and post partum. A considerable restriction of urine flow was found both prepartally as well as on the third day post partum. In contrast, there was practically no disturbance of bladder emptying on the sixth day post partum. This function is restored more quickly in cases of cesarean section than in cases of vaginal delivery. As early as the third day post partum no further influence of subpartal analgesia could be demonstrated. The findings failed to show any difference between the group with vaginal/surgical delivery and that with spontaneous birth. Generous use of these noninvasive diagnostic methods to identify postpartal micturition disorders can be recommended.