OBJECTIVE To estimate changes in levator hiatal dimensions after childbirth in women with and without ultrasonographically visible morphological abnormalities of the levator ani and to correlate those changes with delivery mode. METHODS A total of 296 nulliparous women were recruited. They were examined with four-dimensional translabial ultrasonography at 36-38 weeks of gestation and at 3-4 m...

AIMS To describe longitudinal changes in symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) among parous women. METHODS At annual examinations, beginning at least 5 years from first delivery, OAB and SUI were assessed using the Epidemiology of Prolapse and Incontinence Questionnaire. Published thresholds were used to define "bothersome" symptom scores. The prevalence, ...

MANAGEMENT of labor after previous cesarean delivery continues to be a controversial area of obstetric practice. Neither repeat cesarean delivery nor a trial of labor are without risk. Currently, cesarean delivery is the most commonly performed operation, and repeat cesarean delivery is the most common indication. Although the prevalence of vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC) increased...

BACKGROUND The relationship between population trends in delaying childbirth and rising rates of primary cesarean delivery is unclear. The aims of the present study were (1) to characterize the association between maternal age and the outcome of labor, (2) to determine the proportion of the increase in primary cesarean rates that could be attributed to changes in maternal age distribution, and ...

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) affects women at the end of pregnancy or after delivery. Symptoms overlapping with decrease diagnostic yield PPCM and can increase rate maternal mortality. As clinicians manage high-risk patients, it is crucial to understand variable physiology both during childbirth. Effective management patients necessitates a comprehensive understanding The importance prompt ...

BACKGROUND We apply Intersectional Theory to examine how compounded disadvantage affects the odds of women having a cesarean in U.S.-Mexico border hospitals and in non-border hospitals. We define U.S. Latinas with compounded disadvantage as those who have neither a college education nor private health insurance. RESULTS Analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from Childbirth Connection's ...

PURPOSE Cesarean delivery rates vary widely across populations. Studying communities with low rates of cesarean delivery may identify practices that can lower the cesarean rate. METHODS A population-based historical cohort study included all pregnant women (N = 1132) from 1992 through 1996 in a predominantly Native American region of northwestern New Mexico known to have a high prevalence of ...

This article discusses the development of techniques for cesarean sections by doctors in Brazil, during the 20th century, by analyzing the title "Operação Cesárea" (Cesarean Section), of three editions of the textbookObstetrícia, by Jorge de Rezende. His prominence as an author in obstetrics and his particular style of working, created the groundwork for the normalization of the practice of ces...

PURPOSE Recent national guidelines encourage a trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) as a means of increasing vaginal births after cesarean (VBACs) and decreasing the high US cesarean birth rate and its consequences (2010 National Institute of Health Consensus Statement and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists revised guideline). A birthing center serving Amish women in Southwest...

The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe Rio de Janeiro maternity hospital profiles and the route between the mother's place of residence and the hospital. Data sources were: the State Live Birth Information System (1995) and the National Survey on Medical Care (1992). Two groups of maternity hospitals were identified using multivariate cluster analysis. Group A had an extremely hi...