Anesthesia during labor protects the pelvic muscles, which reduces the risk of urinary incontinence and other complications later in life, reports the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
The study by Dr. Clara Shek of the Nepean Clinical School of Medicine in Sydney looked at 367 women who gave birth between 2005 and 2008. As it turned out, 13 percent of women suffered vaginal delivery damage to the pelvic muscles that support the internal organs. This was the more likely the longer and harder the labor was. A slightly lower risk of damage was associated with the use of a vacuum pump. In the case of forceps delivery, damage occurred in every third case.
In contrast, epidural anesthesia reduced the risk of such injuries. Two-thirds of those in labor with pelvic floor muscle injuries were not epidurally anesthetized.
Damage to the pelvic muscles associated with childbirth can lead to urinary incontinence and even prolapse of organs (bladder and uterus) later in life. Organ prolapse, requiring hospitalization, is four times more common in postpartum women than in childless women, and eight times more after two natural births.
Symptoms of pelvic weakness can vary – for example, sexual problems, urinary incontinence or faecal incontinence, or, on the contrary, constipation. Surgical treatment is often needed.
According to the authors of the research, anesthesia may act directly on the muscles, and in addition, those in labor under such anesthesia do not feel any contractions and press on the obstetrician’s command, which reduces the risk of excessive muscle strain. One in three British women and two thirds in the US use epidural anesthesia during childbirth. (PAP)