Severe recalled labor pain and elective cesarean section in a subsequent delivery: a cohort study of Norwegian parous women

Abstract

Introduction Some women keep on recalling intense labor pain experienced at childbirth to a degree that it may negatively affect their life during the postpartum period or lead them to request a cesarean section (CS) in the subsequent delivery. This longitudinal study aimed to assess the impact of severe recalled labor pain from the previous birth on the preference of and delivery by an elective CS in the subsequent delivery. Further, we investigated if co-occurring maternal demographic, somatic, and mental health factors related to the previous and subsequent delivery explain parts of a potential association. Material and methods The study sample comprised 1135 parous women from the Akershus Birth Cohort. Severe recalled labor pain was assessed by a numeric rating scale at pregnancy week 17, and at pregnancy week 32 the preference of an elective CS for the subsequent delivery was assessed. Information on actual delivery by elective CS in the subsequent delivery was drawn from the electronic birth record. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the impact of severe recalled labor pain on elective CS. Results Severe recalled labor pain at the previous birth was associated with a preference of an elective CS (OR 3.57, 95% CI 2.25-5.67) and actual delivery by elective CS (OR 4.71, 95% CI 2.32-9.59). This association remained statistically significant for the preference of an elective CS (aOR 2.12, 95% CI 1.24-3.62), but diminished for delivery by elective CS (aOR 2.30, 95% CI 0.99-5.35) when adjusting for a variety of covariates. Factors related to previous childbirth such as passed years since previous birth, assisted vaginal delivery, anal sphincter lesions, overall birth experience, and fear of childbirth were also linked to preference and delivery by an elective CS. Conclusions Women with severe recalled labor pain were about twice as likely to prefer an elective CS compared to women without severe recalled pain. For actual delivery, the significant association with severe recalled pain diminished after adjustment for covariates. However, sample size was small and irrespective of severe recalled labor pain, preference of elective CS was statistically significantly associated with actual delivery by elective CS.