What Increases Your Risk

Factors that increase a woman's risk of developing female pelvic pain that becomes chronic include:

• Pregnancy and childbirth that have stressed the back and pelvis, including delivery of a large baby, a difficult delivery, or a forceps or vacuum delivery.
• A history of childhood or adult physical or sexual abuse. About half of women with chronic female pelvic pain report abuse in their past.¹
• A history of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).
• A history of radiation therapy or surgery of the abdomen or pelvis (including some surgeries for urinary incontinence²).
• Past or current diagnosis of depression. Pain sensation and depression seem to be interrelated.
• Alcohol or drug abuse.
• Something abnormal in the structure of the uterus, cervix, or vagina.