Acupuncture Treatment for Post-partum Urinary Retention

Urinary retention is a common and frustrating complication in women during the immediate postpartum period. Physiologic changes in the bladder that occur during pregnancy predispose patients to develop symptomatic retention of urine during the first hours to days after delivery.

Postpartum urinary retention has a reported incidence ranging from 1.7 to 17.9 percent. Up to 5% of these women may have significant and longer lasting dysfunction, which if not recognised in the early peripartum period, may lead to bladder distension and overflow incontinence with significant long-term bladder dysfunction. Factors associated with postpartum urinary retention include: (1)Nulliparous women. (2) Prolonged labour, especially a prolonged second stage. (3)Assisted/instrumental delivery. (4)Perineal injury. (5)Caesarean section. (6)Regional analgesia.

Treatment begins with supportive measures to enhance the likelihood of micturition, such as ambulation, privacy, and a warm bath. If these measures are not successful, catheterization is usually performed.

There are no set national guidelines for the management of postpartum bladder care as yet. There is little evidence on the management of postpartum urinary retention and many hospitals have implemented their own postpartum bladder care protocols.

Acupuncture has been implemented as an alternative course of treatment for urinary retention in several chinese medical centers over the years with reports of spontaneous restoring of micturition in all of the patients.