The effect of education, marital status and sexual behaviour on the incidence of puerperal endometritis and bacteriuria.

During a one year study period, 5058 patients were delivered in the State Maternity Hospital of Helsinki. Caesarean section was performed on 774 patients (15.3%). The puerperal endometritis rate was 1.8% after vaginal delivery and 9.8% after Caesarean section. After vaginal delivery, the frequency of endometritis in unmarried women (3.9%) was more than twice as high as in married women (1.5%) (p less than 0.001). After Caesarean section, endometritis occurred in 20.7% of unmarried and in 8.9% of married women (p less than 0.001). Patients who had sexual intercourse during the last week of pregnancy had endometritis after vaginal delivery at a rate of 2.4% and in 20.0% after Caesarean section. In patients who had not sexual intercourse the percentages were 1.6 and 8.3 respectively. In vaginal deliveries the difference was small but in Caesarean sections statistically significant (p less than 0.05). Maternal education had no significant effect on the frequency of endometritis. Bacteriuria corresponding to greater than or equal to 10(5) bacteria/ml of urine was found in 179 patients (5.0%). The frequency of bacteriuria did not have a statistically significant correlation with the marital status of the patients, nor with their education or sexual behaviour during the last week of pregnancy.