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OpenTrials
Active, Not Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07125326

How the Method of Bladder Emptying After Epidural Placement in Labor Affects Postpartum Voiding

At least ten percent of patients have postpartum urinary retention or difficulty urinating after birth, which can cause incontinence and other urinary problems long-term. After getting an epidural placed, patients should be numb in their pelvic region. This numbness makes it difficult to feel the need to urinate, so patients need a urinary catheter placed to empty the bladder. Some patients have one catheter placed throughout their labor and others have a catheter placed to empty the bladder then removed every few hours. The investigators are studying whether placing a catheter once or catheterizing multiple times affects the rate of postpartum urinary problems and infection.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

Key information

Conditions

Urinary Retention Disease Female Urogenital Diseases Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications Infections Male Urogenital Diseases Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Postpartum Acute Urinary Retention Postpartum Care Urinary Tract Infection (Diagnosis) Urinary Tract Infections Urination Disorders Urogenital Diseases Urologic Diseases Voiding Dysfunction

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15217, United States

About this study

This is a randomized controlled trial to assess the effect of bladder catheterization method during labor with epidural anesthesia on the rate of postpartum urinary retention.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Pregnant patients planning vaginal delivery presenting in labor or for induction of labor
  • Age 18 years and older
  • Live fetus
  • Receive epidural anesthesia

Exclusion criteria

  • those under 18 years old
  • those with stillbirth
  • those with baseline overactive bladder symptoms, neurogenic bladder diagnoses, or otherwise using bladder catheterization during pregnancy

Patients will be excluded from UTI analyses if:

  • they received antibiotics intrapartum
  • had bacteriuria diagnosed by a clean catch specimen showing >100,000 CFU/mL of a single bacterial species, regardless of symptoms

Treatment and study plan

Intermittent catheterization

Procedure

intermittent bladder catheterization every four hours, or shorter intervals if volume exceeds 500mL per expert recommendation

Continuous catheterization

Procedure

One catheter is placed in the bladder until pushing

Primary outcomes

  1. Postpartum urinary retention

    Time frame: Three days postpartum

    Urinary retention defined as overt inability to void at six hours after last bladder emptying postpartum or symptomatic incomplete emptying, or covert retention of >150cc urine in the bladder after voiding Collecting number of participants who experience this

Secondary outcomes

  1. Postpartum urinary tract infection

    Time frame: One week postpartum

    Culture-proven urinary tract infection without pre-existing infection documented on admission for delivery Collecting number of participants who experience this

  2. Patient satisfaction

    Time frame: Immediately postpartum

    Title: Patient satisfaction Minimum rating 1, maximum 5, with 5 corresponding to better outcome Each question will be interpreted alone rather than aggregated

  3. Nurse satisfaction

    Time frame: Immediately postpartum

    Title: Nurse satisfaction Minimum rating 1, maximum 5, with 5 corresponding to better outcome Each question will be interpreted alone rather than aggregated

  4. Voiding function at 2 weeks

    Time frame: 2 weeks postpartum

    Urinary Distress Inventory-6 questionnaire answers, to be analyzed individually (0-4) and also summed, with higher total score indicating worse function from 0 to 24

  5. Voiding function at 6 weeks

    Time frame: 6 weeks postpartum

    Urinary Distress Inventory-6 questionnaire answers, to be analyzed individually (0-4) and also summed, with higher total score indicating worse function from 0 to 24

  6. Voiding function at 6 months

    Time frame: 6 months postpartum

    Urinary Distress Inventory-6 questionnaire answers, to be analyzed individually (0-4) and also summed, with higher total score indicating worse function from 0 to 24

  7. Voiding function at one year

    Time frame: one year postpartum

    Urinary Distress Inventory-6 questionnaire answers, to be analyzed individually (0-4) and also summed, with higher total score indicating worse function from 0 to 24

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Intermittent Versus Continuous Bladder Catheterization in Epiduralized Laboring Patients: a Non-blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2027
First posted
Aug 15, 2025
Registry last updated
Jun 12, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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