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Recovery from pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms in the postpartum is associated with the duration of the second stage of labor

  • General Gynecology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Pregnancy and labor are known risk factors for pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). Yet not much is known regarding recovery from PFD. We hypothesized that the recovery from PFD during the postpartum period would be associated with the duration of the second stage of labor (SSL).

Methods

We conducted a case–control study of patients who gave birth at the Soroka University Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Those who consented completed the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20 (PFDI-20), a questionnaire developed to measure the extent of injury to the pelvic floor, after delivery and 3-month postpartum. The difference between the scores was calculated, representing recovery of symptoms. The duration of the SSL, and clinical and obstetrical characteristics were retrieved from the patients’ medical records. Wilcoxon rank test was used, assessing the significance of the recovery. The association between the degree of the recovery and the duration of SSL was tested using Mann–Whitney ranking.

Results

A total of 92 patients completed the PFDI-20 after delivery and 3-month postpartum. We found a significant difference between PFD symptoms during pregnancy and 3-month postpartum (P < 0.001). This difference remained consistent in all components of the PFDI-20. In addition, a more profound recovery of colorectal and anal dysfunction (CRAD) symptoms was associated with a shorter duration of the SSL (P = 0.03).

Conclusions

There is a statistically significant recovery of PFD symptoms in the postpartum period. Furthermore, greater recovery from CRAD symptoms is associated with a shorter duration of the SSL.

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Abbreviations

CRAD:

Colorectal and anal distress

PFD:

Pelvic floor dysfunction

PFDI:

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Inventory

POP:

Pelvic organ prolapse

UD:

Urinary distress

VD:

Vaginal delivery

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted as part of the requirements for MD degree from the Goldman Medical School at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Funding

This study received no funding.

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Author notes

  1. Ella Pardo and Reut Rotem have contributed equally to the manuscript.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soroka University Medical Center, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Hannah Glinter, Miriam Erenberg, Lior Yahav, Zehava Yohay, David Yohay & Adi Y. Weintraub

  2. Joyce Irving Goldman Medical School, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Ella Pardo

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, affiliated with the Hebrew University Medical School of Jerusalem, 12 Bayit Street, 91031, Jerusalem, Israel

    Reut Rotem

Authors
  1. Ella Pardo
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  2. Reut Rotem
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  4. Miriam Erenberg
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  5. Lior Yahav
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  8. Adi Y. Weintraub
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Contributions

EP—project management, manuscript writing, data collection, data analysis, RR—data analysis, manuscript writing, HG—data collection, ME—data collection, LY—data analysis, ZY—data collection, DY—data collection, AYW—manuscript editing, project management.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Reut Rotem.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the institutional review board (0199-16-SOR).

Human and animal rights statement

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Pardo, E., Rotem, R., Glinter, H. et al. Recovery from pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms in the postpartum is associated with the duration of the second stage of labor. Arch Gynecol Obstet 300, 127–133 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-019-05173-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-019-05173-1

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