Postpartum pelvic floor disorders: Who's at risk

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[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Postpartum pelvic floor disorders: Who's at risk?]

[Text on screen: Lisa Hickman, MD
Urogynecology & Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center]

Lisa Hickman, MD: Women who are at the highest risk for pelvic floor disorders after pregnancy... 

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Dr. Hickman: typically are the individuals who have the most advanced tears, and they're most likely to experience issues with bowel control immediately postpartum. And this isn't something that women typically talk about, but also something that I hear in my practice quite a bit from patients saying they wish they would've known. 

Women who have had multiple pregnancies and have experienced leaking with cough, laugh, sneeze historically, or jumping, called stress incontinence, are more likely to experience it again in subsequent pregnancies or postpartum. 

Women who've had multiple vaginal deliveries are more at risk for pelvic organ prolapse, which is a weakness of the support structures that hold the pelvic organs in place. 

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Dr. Hickman: And this can present with a vaginal pressure or fullness or a bulge sensation.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
For more information, visit:
health.osu.edu]

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