Effects of Labor Analgesia on Pelvic Floor Function at 6 to 8 Weeks after Delivery: A Prospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Objective The aim of the study is to determine whether the use of labor analgesia had a higher risk of pelvic floor functional problems after delivery.

Study Design All primiparas who delivered at our hospital between June 2019 and May 2020 were enrolled in the study. They were divided into two groups according to their choices: delivery with labor analgesia (analgesia group, n = 76), and delivery without labor analgesia (nonanalgesia group, n = 78). The primary outcome of the study was to test the pelvic floor function by electromyography (EMG) at postpartum 6 to 8 weeks. Participants also completed questionnaires including Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI-20), International Consultation on Incontinent Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF), and Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) at postpartum 6 to 8 weeks.

Results Primiparas in the analgesia group experienced longer first and second stages of labor (p< 0.05), and had significantly higher PFDI-20 scores at postpartum 6 to 8 weeks (p< 0.05). But the differences in ICIQ-SF, OABSS scores, and Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system between the two groups were not significant (p > 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found in class II and class I muscles, scores of pretest resting baseline, and posttest resting baseline between primiparas with or without labor analgesia (p > 0.05).

Conclusion Our results strongly confirmed that labor analgesia did not increase the risk of pelvic floor dysfunction up to 6 to 8 weeks after delivery, although symptom burden might be increased after labor analgesia.

Key Points

• Labor analgesia did not increase risk of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction after delivery.

• There are longer first and second stages of labor in primiparas with labor analgesia.

• Primiparas with labor analgesia had more obvious subjective symptoms of PFD.

Keywords

labor analgesia - primiparas - pelvic floor dysfunction - postpartum - vaginal delivery

Ethical Approval

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the ethics committee of Beijing Hospital. Ethical certificate number: 2019BJYYEC-014–02.

Informed Consent

All participants informed and consent to participate in this study.

Authors' Contributions

L.A. and L.M. contributed toward conception and design. L.J. and G.T. did the data acquisition. F.Q., D.W., and W.S. analyzed and interpreted the data. F.Q., D.W., and W.S. drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 01. Juli 2021

Angenommen: 03. Juni 2022

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. September 2022

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