BackgroundThe technique used in the repair of a perineal injury resulting from childbirth could avoid discomfort and morbidity during the postpartum period. Recent studies show inconsistent results and support the need for new research with the inclusion of new health parameters not yet studied. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate if the suture technique (continuous or interrupted) has an effect on pain and other postpartum problems, incidence of incontinence (urinary and/or fecal), and the restart of sexual relations.MethodsA single-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted in five hospitals in south-east Spain. The participants were primiparous women who had experienced a perineal injury during delivery (second-degree tear or episiotomy). Data was collected on sociodemographic variables, variables associated with pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period, and outcomes during the 3 months after delivery: pain, incontinence, and restart of sexual relations. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated by binary logistic regression to assess the influence of the suture type on binary outcomes and t-test used for comparing continuous outcomes. Multivariate analyses (using logistic regression -adjusted (aOR)- and analysis of covariance) were carried out to adjust for unbalanced variables after randomization.ResultsA total of 70 women were included in the intervention group (continuous suture) and 64 in the reference group (interrupted sutures). A negative association was observed (aOR = 0.39; 95% CI = 0.18–0.86) between a continuous suture and the need for analgesia at 24 h postpartum. Pain experienced by the women at 24 h postpartum was assessed as 4.4 ± 0.3 compared with a score of 3.4 ± 0.3 in the group with continuous sutures (p = 0.011). At 15 days postpartum, women in the intervention group experienced less pain (aOR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.18–0.80) (p = 0.019). Urinary sphincter incontinence was also evaluated at 15 days, with 4.3% (n = 3) of the women in the intervention group presenting with urinary incontinence compared with 18.8% (n = 12) in the control group (aOR = 0.11; 95% CI = 0.03–0.47) (P = 0.003).ConclusionsThe women who had a continuous suture repair showed lower levels of pain from delivery to 3 months after delivery and had a lower incidence of urinary incontinence at 15 days postpartum.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03825211 posted January 31, 2019 (retrospectively registered).

Delaying motherhood is becoming increasingly common, raising questions of the possible influence that maternal age may have on newborn health. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the association between maternal age and different newborn health parameters. An observational study was conducted in Spain on primiparous women and their infants. Data were collected on newborn health variables, breastfeeding, and different clinical practices that are beneficial for child health and development. Crude and adjusted mean differences were calculated along with the standard error of the mean. A total of 373 women and their children participated. In terms of early commencement skin-to-skin contact, the mean age of women that did skin-to-skin contact was 29.95 ± 0.31 years compared to 31.49 ± 0.66 years in those that did not (p = 0.042). In terms of other newborn parameters, such as preterm birth, health problems or complications, or the need for hospital admission, these were more frequent in the oldest group of mothers, but the differences found were not significant (p > 0.05). Hence, indicators of newborn morbidity were not found to be significantly associated with maternal age; however, beneficial practices such as early commencement skin-to-skin contact were found to be significantly associated with maternal age.