Pelvic Floor Tear After Birth

Pelvic floor dysfunction is the inability to control the muscles of your pelvic floor.

Pelvic floor tear after birth.

1 until recently the phrase pelvic floor injury referred only to perineal and vaginal tears and damage to the anal sphincter the muscle that surrounds the end. This is not surprising after all a large proportion of women who attempted to give birth naturally are affected. Imaging after childbirth shows that once the muscle is pulled off the bone it shrinks and pulls back towards the back passage. Direct repair of anal sphincter muscle tears is commonly performed immediately after childbirth see third and fourth degree perineal tears leaflet but sometimes this is also done later in life in women with anal incontinence.

Still seeing a pelvic health physiotherapist in the months before giving birth can help by providing useful exercises to reduce the chances of first and second degree tears and improve recovery after delivery no matter how severe the tear. During a vaginal birth your pelvic floor will experience the biggest load ever placed on it. Slowly re introduce pelvic floor exercises in the first six weeks postpartum. Pelvic rehabilitation is a type of physical therapy that can be very helpful for postpartum moms.

Having a well toned pelvic floor also enhances feeling in your vagina making sex and orgasm more satisfying sacomori and cardoso 2015. Your pelvic floor has just had to stretch up to three times its normal length. So it s no wonder that studies show an average of 25 35 reduction in pelvic floor strength following birth. Direct repair of tears to the pelvic floor muscle is in its infancy and only offered in the context of research studies.

After your pelvic floor strength and healing has been assessed at your six week checkup you can start to increase the intensity of those exercises. In some women the avulsion is not complete and scar tissue can bridge a partial tear but once the muscle is completely off the bone the defect usually won t heal. Stool softeners and laxatives are recommended for two weeks to make bowel movements easier. 2 in the first vaginal birth as many as seven out of ten women will experience some tearing of the perineum.

10 in some women levator avulsion occurs on both sides and there is even less pelvic floor support. Your pelvic floor is the group of muscles and ligaments in your pelvic region the pelvic floor acts like a. Daily pelvic floor exercises help you to regain control of your bladder and bowel after your baby s birth macarthur and ismail 2014. What is pelvic rehab therapy.

Pregnancy and childbirth can damage the muscles and connective tissue of the pelvic floor causing all kinds of inconvenient and uncomfortable symptoms for women after they give birth.