Assessment of postpartum perineal pain after vaginal delivery: prevalence, severity and determinants. A prospective observational study.

Aim: Perineal pain is present, after birth, in almost all (95-100%) women who have experienced perineal trauma. It has been shown that women with spontaneous vaginal delivery and minimal or absent perineal trauma will have better recoveries: less pain, more tonic perineal muscles, improved sexual function and lower rates of depression. The purpose of the present study was to prospectively assess the prevalence of perineal pain in a population of women with vaginal birth at term and physiological single newborn.