How the Method of Bladder Emptying After Epidural Placement in Labor Affects Postpartum Voiding

Not Applicable

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: Urinary Retention; Urinary Tract Infection (Diagnosis); Postpartum Care; Voiding Dysfunction; Postpartum Acute Urinary Retention

• Registration Number: NCT07125326
• Lead Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh

Brief Summary

At least ten percent of patients have postpartum urinary retention or difficulty urinating after birth, which can cause incontinence and other urinary problems long-term. After getting an epidural placed, patients should be numb in their pelvic region. This numbness makes it difficult to feel the need to urinate, so patients need a urinary catheter placed to empty the bladder. Some patients have one catheter placed throughout their labor and others have a catheter placed to empty the bladder then removed every few hours. The investigators are studying whether placing a catheter once or catheterizing multiple times affects the rate of postpartum urinary problems and infection.

Detailed Description

This is a randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of bladder catheterization method during labor with epidural anesthesia on the rate of postpartum urinary retention.

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2025-08
• Study Start: 2025-08-01
• Study First Submitted: 2025-08-04
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-08-12
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-08-12
• Study First Posted: 2025-08-15
• Last Update Posted: 2025-08-15
• Primary Completion: 2026-08
• Study Completion: 2027-08-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 564

Inclusion Criteria

• Pregnant patients planning vaginal delivery presenting in labor or for induction of labor
• Age 18 years and older
• Live fetus
• Receive epidural anesthesia

Exclusion Criteria

• those under 18 years old
• those with stillbirth
• those with baseline overactive bladder symptoms, neurogenic bladder diagnoses, or otherwise using bladder catheterization during pregnancy

Patients will be excluded from UTI analyses if:

• they received antibiotics intrapartum
• had bacteriuria diagnosed by a clean catch specimen showing >100,000 CFU/mL of a single bacterial species, regardless of symptoms

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Postpartum urinary retention	Three days postpartum	Urinary retention defined as overt inability to void at six hours after last bladder emptying postpartum or symptomatic incomplete emptying, or covert retention of \>150cc urine in the bladder after voiding Collecting number of participants who experience this

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Nurse satisfaction	Immediately postpartum	Title: Nurse satisfaction Minimum rating 1, maximum 5, with 5 corresponding to better outcome Each question will be interpreted alone rather than aggregated
Voiding function at 6 weeks	6 weeks postpartum	Urinary Distress Inventory-6 questionnaire answers, to be analyzed individually (0-4) and also summed, with higher total score indicating worse function from 0 to 24
Voiding function at 6 months	6 months postpartum	Urinary Distress Inventory-6 questionnaire answers, to be analyzed individually (0-4) and also summed, with higher total score indicating worse function from 0 to 24
Postpartum urinary tract infection	One week postpartum	Culture-proven urinary tract infection without pre-existing infection documented on admission for delivery Collecting number of participants who experience this
Patient satisfaction	Immediately postpartum	Title: Patient satisfaction Minimum rating 1, maximum 5, with 5 corresponding to better outcome Each question will be interpreted alone rather than aggregated
Voiding function at 2 weeks	2 weeks postpartum	Urinary Distress Inventory-6 questionnaire answers, to be analyzed individually (0-4) and also summed, with higher total score indicating worse function from 0 to 24
Voiding function at one year	one year postpartum	Urinary Distress Inventory-6 questionnaire answers, to be analyzed individually (0-4) and also summed, with higher total score indicating worse function from 0 to 24

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital; 🇺🇸 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States