Pelvic Muscle Strength Decreases After Vaginal Births

Giving birth vaginally can weaken pelvic muscles gradually, says a new study.

However, the current study, published online in Obstetrics & Gynecology, unlike previous studies researchers couldn't fully prove the link between pelvic muscle weakening and urinary incontinence or other complications related to pelvic floor, Reuters Health reported.

"We don't know the significance of the pelvic muscle weakness," Dr. Victoria Handa, one of the authors of the study and a professor at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, told Reuters Health. "What we do know from this paper is that there are some differences in pelvic muscle strength five to 10 years after childbirth by delivery group. But what we don't know is will those differences in muscle strength translate into a greater chance of problems for women with 'weakened' pelvic muscles?"

For examining the link between the method of giving birth (vaginal birth, C-section or forceps) and pelvic strength, Handa and colleagues looked at 666 mothers, five to ten years after giving birth.

The researchers, with the help of a probe, measured participant's pelvic muscle strength. Participants squeezed their pelvic muscles, when the probe was inserted into the vagina and the researchers noted down the pressure and the length of the squeeze.

At the end, investigators found great differences in squeezing ability of the probe between mothers who had cesarean (39 cm), normal birth (29cm) and using forceps (17cm).

"With the use of forceps you're stretching or disrupting muscles potentially at a much greater rate than you would with women who have given birth (without forceps) or by cesarean," Lisa Kane Low, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, who was not involved in this study, told Reuters Health.

However, according to the researchers, more research is to be conducted to fully confirm the link between type of childbirth and pelvic disorders.