Comparison of Quality of Life in Women after Vaginal Delivery and Cesarean Section

The postpartum period is associated with great changes in women's quality of life. These changes can influence mother-baby health. Regarding the importance of quality of life and postpartum, and effective factors on postnatal quality of life including the mode of delivery, this study was conducted to compare quality of life in women after vaginal delivery and cesarean section at 8 weeks postpartum. In this prospective analytic study 420 pregnant women aged 16-35 years who referred to health center without history of general medical conditions, psychological and pregnancy problems, drug intake, and without experiencing stress at 9 past months were recruited using nonprobability sampling. Subjects completed Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) during the third trimester pregnancy and subjects with EPDS score>12 were excluded from the study. From 290, 148 in normal vaginal delivery group and 142 in cesarean section group were followed up at 8 week postpartum. Quality of life in physical, psychological, social, environmental and overall domains was assessed and compared using WHOQOL BREF questionnaire. At 8 weeks postpartum in NVD group the mean score of quality of life was 75.01±11.74 for physical domain that was significantly higher than the mean score of QOL for physical domain in C/S group (70.54±10.48) (p=0.000). In NVD group the mean score of quality of life was 73.14±14.71 for psychological domain that was significantly higher than the mean score of QOL for psychological domain in C/S group (69.23±13.71) (p=0.024). There was no statistically significant difference between two groups in social, environmental and Overall domains. According to the results of this study, the score of quality of life in NVD group was better than C/S group on physical and psychological domains; health care provider for correct choice of mode of delivery can be effective in reducing elective cesarean and improving quality of life after delivery.