A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY OF PERSISTENT BACK PAIN AFTER PREGNANCY

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of back pain after delivery an d its relationship to individual factors. Study design: A cohort of 88 pregnant women, aged 14-46 years, who had suffered from back pain dur ing pregnancy, and delivered at Aydin Maternity Hospital was selected. They had been followed up through pregnancy, and 6 months post partum filled out a questionnaire. The data were analyzed statistically. Res ults: Follow-up showed that back pain at the time of delivery and 6 mo nths post partum was reported by 59.1% and 43.2% of the women, respect ively. The difference in prevalence of back pain between young women a nd older ones was statistically significant (P=0.000). The number of p revious pregnancies increased the risk of back pain (P=0.000), but the re was no difference in prevalence of back pain between women with hea vy work and without heavy work before pregnancy (P=0.310). Furthermore , women with a history of back pain before pregnancy were found to exp erience more intense pain at 6 months post partum compared to those wi thout a history of back pain before pregnancy (2.1+/-1.0 and 0.4+/-0.4 , respectively, P=0.000). Conclusion: These results indicate that preg nant women with a previous history of back pain had a higher prevalenc e of back pain, especially in young multigravid patients. (C) 1998 Els evier Science Ireland Ltd.