Relationship between parity and the problems that appear in the postpartum period

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Maternal Health
• Perinatal Research

Background:

• Parity, defined as the number of previous births, is known to influence pregnancy and delivery outcomes.
• The impact of parity on postpartum well-being remains under-researched, with conflicting findings in existing literature.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between parity and the occurrence of specific discomforts and problems experienced during the postpartum period.
• To compare the prevalence of postpartum issues between primiparous and multiparous women.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted with puerperal women in Spain.
• Data on demographic, obstetric variables, and maternal postpartum manifestations were collected via an online questionnaire.
• Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Main Results:

• Primiparous women reported significantly higher rates of sadness (53.4% vs 36.2%), lactation problems (48.3% vs 24.7%), anxiety (37.2% vs 25.7%), depressive symptoms (22.2% vs 11.6%), and fecal incontinence (6.5% vs 3.3%) compared to multiparous women.
• Adjusted odds ratios indicated a higher likelihood of these issues in primiparous women, with lactation problems showing the largest disparity (aOR: 2.46).

Conclusions:

• Parity is significantly associated with the presence of specific postpartum problems.
• Primiparous women face a greater risk of experiencing lactation difficulties, depressive symptoms, anxiety, sadness, and fecal incontinence in the postpartum period.