• Anne Danielle Santos Soares, Couceiro Tânia Cursino de Menezes TC, Luciana Cavalcanti Lima, Fernanda Lobo Lago Flores, Eusa Maria Belarmino Alcoforado, and de Oliveira Couceiro Filho Roberto R.
• Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira, Recife, PE, Brazil.
• Braz J Anesthesiol. 2013 Jul 1; 63 (4): 317-21.

Background And ObjectivesVaginal birth delivery may result in acute and persistent perineal pain postpartum. This study evaluated the association between catastrophizing, a phenomenon of poor psychological adjustment to pain leading the individual to magnify the painful experience making it more intense, and the incidence and severity of perineal pain and its relationship to perineal trauma.MethodCohort study conducted with pregnant women in labor. We used the pain catastrophizing scale during hospitalization and assessed the degree of perineal lesion and pain severity in the fi rst 24 hours and after 8 weeks of delivery using a numerical pain scale.ResultsWe evaluated 55 women, with acute pain reported by 69.1%, moderate/severe pain by 36.3%, and persistent pain by 14.5%. Catastrophizing mean score was 2.15 } 1.24. Catastrophizing patients showed a 2.90 relative risk (RR) for perineal pain (95% CI: 1.08-7.75) and RR: 1.31 for developing persistent perineal pain (95% CI: 1.05-1.64). They also showed a RR: 2.2 for developing acute and severe perineal pain (95% CI: 1.11-4.33).ConclusionsThe incidence of acute and persistent perineal pain after vaginal delivery is high. Catastrophizing pregnant women are at increased risk for developing acute and persistent perineal pain, as well as severe pain. Perineal trauma increased the risk of persistent perineal pain.2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

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