Postnatal Prevalence of Bacteriuria in Women With Catheter Versus no Catheter in Labour: a Prospective Cohort Study

Catheterisation is an accepted tool in intrapartum bladder care and indwelling catheters are used routinely before elective caesarean sections. However, urinary catheters are associated with an increased rate of urinary tract infections which can lead to complications including increased maternal morbidity and prolonged hospital stay. A Cochrane Review (2014) concluded that there is insufficient evidence to assess the routine use of indwelling bladder catheters in women undergoing caesarean section. The incidence and causation of catheter-associated infection in this population is unknown. We propose to provide this data, by comparing urine samples from pregnant women before and after their delivery and analysing this against observational catheter use during the delivery. This will be vital in conducting future research into potential change in policy on routine catheterisation. It will also be beneficial to patients as it could reduce the burden of catheterisation by reducing their chance of developing a UTI and by reducing the associated morbidity.