BACKGROUND:

since postpartum urinary retention is not a condition that is considered severe, information of its treatment in obstetrical units is very limited, especially in Latin America.

METHOD:

search of published information in Spanish and English, between 2000 and 2016 related to preventive measures and treatment of postpartum urinary retention in two data bases of biomedical bibliography: Pubmed and Scopus.

RESULTS:

31 scientific articles in English related to the treatment of postpartum urinary retention were found as well as a few studies of acute urinary retention in animal models, none of them in Spanish. The diagnosis of postpartum urinary retention is established using invasive and non-invasive methods: catheters and ultrasound. Treatment includes preventive measures (reduction of delivery issues through appropriate training of obstetrical unis or the use of massage on the sacral region) and after delivery (use of urethral or suprapubic catheters).

CONCLUSIONS:

postpartum urinary retention is a clinical complication, thus we have to understand that early diagnosis and treatment substantially contribute to decreasing the high prevalence of female bladder dysfunctions. In this review, we proved the need for preclinical tests that allow us to recognize the long term repercussion of urinary retention and test new treatments.