American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Volume 203, Issue 2 , Pages 146.e1-146.e6, August 2010

Pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy: the impact of parity

  • Elisabeth K. Bjelland, MSc

      Affiliations

    • Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprints: Elisabeth K. Bjelland, MSc, Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404 Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway
    • ,
  • Anne Eskild, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
    • Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and Medical Faculty Division, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Akershus, Norway
    • ,
  • Rune Johansen, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
    • ,
  • Malin Eberhard-Gran, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
    • Health Services Research Centre, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Akershus, Norway

Received 18 November 2009; received in revised form 18 February 2010; accepted 17 March 2010. published online 31 May 2010.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to estimate the association of parity with pelvic girdle syndrome (PGS; pain in anterior and bilateral posterior pelvis).

Study Design

We included 75,939 pregnant women in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. Data were obtained by self-administered questionnaires.

Results

By pregnancy week 30, 15% of the women had developed PGS. Among first-time mothers, 11% of the women reported PGS, compared with 18% of the women with 1 previous delivery and 21% of women with 2 previous deliveries. The odds ratios for PGS of having had 1 or 2 previous deliveries were 1.9 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9–2.0) and 2.4 (95% CI, 2.3–2.6), respectively, after adjustment for other study factors. For PGS with severe pain, the corresponding odds ratios were 2.6 (95% CI, 2.3–2.9) and 3.8 (95% CI, 3.3–4.3).

Conclusion

The risk of the development of PGS increased with number of previous deliveries, which suggests that parity-related factors play a causal role.

Key words: parity, pelvic girdle pain, pelvic girdle syndrome, pregnancy, risk factor

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 Supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health, NIH/NIEHS (Grant no. N01-ES-85433), NIH/NINDS (Grant no. 1 UO1 NS 047537-01), the Norwegian Research Council/FUGE (Grant no. 151918/S10), and the Norwegian Research Council.

 Cite this article as: Bjelland EK, Eskild A, Johansen R, et al. Pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy: the impact of parity. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010;203:146.e1-6.

PII: S0002-9378(10)00359-5

doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2010.03.040

American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Volume 203, Issue 2 , Pages 146.e1-146.e6, August 2010

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