ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers have established a strong connection between muscle damage during vaginal childbirth and pelvic organ prolapse.
Lead author Dr. John O. L. DeLancey of the University of Michigan Health System says an increase among women electing to have Caesarean sections in recent years has been due in large part to a concern that giving birth vaginally will lead to a fallen bladder and uterus in later life.
The study, published in the February issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, found major defects of the levator ani, an important muscle that supports the bladder and uterus, among 55 percent of women with pelvic organ prolapse and 16 percent of women who did not have prolapse.
Pelvic organ prolapse can mean the falling of the bladder, uterus, vagina or lower bowel. One of the most common effects of the condition is urinary incontinence.
Even so, the researchers caution against using these findings as support for more elective C-sections, because that would result in numerous women having an operation they do not need. Rather, they say, the study results should be used to help determine how to prevent these injuries in the first place.
