1.Effect of new labor process on early postpartum pelvic floor muscle strength
Yu WANG ; Xinnan HOU ; Lei ZHANG ; Songwen NIAN ; Ruilin GUO ; Bingbing XIAO ; Xiaoqing WANG ; Xiaoxiao WANG ; Ye LU
Chinese Journal of Perinatal Medicine 2024;27(6):499-503
Objective:To explore the changes in early postpartum pelvic floor muscle strength following the implementation of the new labor process.Methods:This retrospective cohort study selected 1 834 primiparous women with singleton, full-term pregnancies who delivered at Peking University First Hospital from February 2011 to March 2016 and had a pelvic floor re-examination 6-8 weeks postpartum. Out of these, 738 cases who followed the old labor process before 2014 were categorized as the old process group, and 1 096 cases who followed the new labor process after 2014 were categorized as the new process group. Basic data, childbirth information, and postpartum pelvic floor muscle strength of the two groups were compared. Data were statistically analyzed using t-test, Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and ordered multicategory logistic regression to assess the impact of the new and old labor process and other factors on pelvic floor muscle strength. Results:The total duration of labor, as well as the duration of the first, second, and third stages of labor, were longer in the new process group than in the old process group [549.0 min (360.0-768.0 min) vs. 482.5 min (328.0-635.0 min), 465.0 min (297.5-672.5 min) vs. 420.0 min (285.0-555.0 min), 42.0 min (24.0-74.0 min) vs. 27.0 min (18.0-45.0 min), with Z-value of-5.72,-3.95, and-9.28, all P<0.05). The rates of vaginal delivery and labor analgesia were higher in the new process group [72.1% (790/1 096) vs. 67.2% (496/738), χ2=7.41; 67.4% (739/1 096) vs. 53.4% (394/738), χ2=36.82; both P<0.05]. There were no statistically significant differences in the comparison of Class Ⅰ and Class Ⅱ muscle strength grades between the two groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion:There was no significant decline in early postpartum pelvic floor muscle strength following the implementation of the new labor process standards.