Observation of levator ani muscle contractility in postpartum women by ultrasound / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the changes of levator ani muscle contractility in different postpartum periods by observing the contractility of postpartum women's levator ani muscle.Methods Forty-six postpartum women and 43 nulliparous women were included in the object.All of those went through translabial pelvic floor ultrasound examinations.Images of their levator hiatus would be recorded at the conditions of rest and contraction.The hiatal length (L)and the area (A)of levator hiatus were measured,then the differences were obtained between rest and contraction conditions,recording as ΔL andΔA.Relevant data were analyzed.Results There was no obvious statistical difference of L and A between the groups (P >0.05).The ΔL and ΔA of the 6-8 weeks were the minimum in this objective(P 0.05).Conclusions After delivery,the contractility of levator ani muscle became weaker,but could recovery effectively after about half a year.