Objectives: The aims of this study were to describe women's traditional postpartum practice and chronic pain, and to explore the relationship between them.
Methods: In this cross-sectional and case-control study, two scales were used to measure the traditional practices and chronic pain in a random sample of 1,831 women 5-11 years after delivery.
Results: Twenty-eight different postpartum practices were measured by traditional postpartum practices scale (TPPS) and the majority of the women adhered to these practices during their postpartum period. The prevalence of chronic pain was 55.8%. A multiple logistic regression analysis, as well as the analysis from a pair-matched case-control design showed that there was no relationship between women's traditional practices and chronic pain.
Conclusions: Women's traditional postpartum practices did not decrease the risk of chronic pain for women 5-11 years after their deliveries.