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The following is a summary of “Association between musculoskeletal pain during pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analyses,” published in the March 2024 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by Lan et al.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to elucidate the relationship between musculoskeletal pain during pregnancy and key birth outcomes, including the likelihood of cesarean section, newborn birth weight, birth length, and gestational age at delivery. To achieve this, comprehensive searches were conducted across multiple databases, including Medline, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Scopus, to identify relevant studies. The analysis utilized odds ratios, mean differences, and confidence intervals to quantify the associations. The quality of the included studies was rigorously assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies, while the GRADE framework was employed to evaluate the quality of evidence for each outcome.

The review incorporated data from seven studies, encompassing a total of 85,991 participants. The findings revealed that pregnant women with musculoskeletal pain had a 59% higher likelihood of delivering via cesarean section compared to those without such pain, based on low-quality evidence (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.31). However, musculoskeletal pain did not appear to significantly influence newborn birth weight (MD 77.79 g, 95% CI −23.09 to 178.67) or birth length (MD 0.55 cm, 95% CI −0.47 to 1.56), with the evidence for these outcomes rated as very low-quality and low-quality, respectively. Additionally, there was moderate evidence suggesting that musculoskeletal pain was associated with a slightly shorter gestational age (MD −0.41 weeks, 95% CI −0.41 to −0.07), although this difference was minor and likely not clinically significant.

In conclusion, while musculoskeletal pain during pregnancy appears to increase the odds of cesarean delivery, it does not seem to have a significant impact on newborn birth weight, birth length, or gestational age at birth. These findings highlight the need for further research to better understand the clinical implications of musculoskeletal pain in pregnancy and its potential influence on maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301211524000356