Evaluation and treatment of perineal pain in vaginal postpartum

Objectives: To identify the prevalence, intensity and therapeutic measures for relief of perineal pain in the vaginal postpartum. Methods: Cross-sectional study in a University Hospital Rooming Unit of the University of Sao Paulo; data were collected through interviews with 303 postpartum women who delivered vaginally (numeric scale from 0 to 10) to assess: perineal pain, perineal assessment and medical record data. Results: The prevalence of perineal pain was 18.5%, with moderate intensity (51.8%) associated with presence of episiotomy (p = 0.001). There were 303 vaginal deliveries, 80.5% had perineal trauma, episiotomy, 75.4% and 24.6% lacerations. The oral analgesic was the method used to relieve perineal pain. Conclusion: There are several treatments for perineal pain relief and there are no effective methods for complete resolution of the problem.