Prevalence, characteristics, and impact of pain during the postpartum period

Abstract

Objective: To identify the prevalence of pain in puerperal women, describe the characteristics of pain and its impacts on the performance of daily life activities, and evaluate satisfaction with received analgesia. Method: Cross-sectional study which included women who had given birth. These were evaluated within 72 hours postpartum in a public teaching hospital in São Paulo city. Obstetric and clinical data were evaluated, as well as presence and characteristics of pain and its impact on daily activities. Results: A total 128 women participated in this study. The prevalence of pain was 36.7% during the interview and 54.6% in the previous 24 hours. The main pain site was the abdominal region (64.7%) and pain intensity was moderate to 48.9% of women, with intermittent frequency in 58% of the cases. There was a significant association between presence of pain and type of delivery (cesarean; p=0.030). Not being able to provide care to the newborn, requiring going to a different unit, increased pain perception (p=0.038). A significant impact of pain on the capacity of walking, eating, sleeping, taking care of the baby, evacuating, breathing deeply, breastfeeding, and sitting was verified. Conclusion: Pain was frequent during the postpartum period and significantly affected the mothers’ activities, indicating a need for improving pain management in puerperium.