Anal incontinence after two vaginal deliveries without obstetric anal sphincter rupture

PURPOSE: To evaluate prevalence and risk factors for long-term anal incontinence in women with two prior vaginal deliveries without obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASIS) and to assess the impact of anal incontinence-related symptoms on quality of life.

METHODS: This is a nation-wide cross-sectional survey study. One thousand women who had a first vaginal delivery and a subsequent delivery, both without OASIS, between 1997 and 2008 in Denmark were identified in the Danish Medical Birth Registry. Women with more than two deliveries in total till 2012 were excluded at this stage. Of the 1000 women randomly identified, 763 were eligible and received a questionnaire. Maternal and obstetric data were retrieved from the national registry.

RESULTS: The response rate was 58.3%. In total, 394 women were included for analysis after reviewing responses according to previously defined exclusion criteria. Median follow-up time was 9.8 years after the first delivery and 6.4 years after the second. The prevalence of flatal incontinence, fecal incontinence and fecal urgency were 11.7, 4.1, and 12.3%, respectively. Overall, 20.1% had any degree of anal incontinence and/or fecal urgency. In 6.3% these symptoms affected their quality of life. No maternal or obstetric factors including episiotomy and vacuum extraction were consistently associated with altered risk of anal incontinence in the multivariable analyses.

CONCLUSIONS: Anal incontinence and fecal urgency is reported by one fifth of women with two vaginal deliveries without OASIS at long-term follow-up. Episiotomy or vacuum extraction did not alter the risk of long-term anal incontinence.