Longitudinal changes in pelvic organ support among primiparas with postpartum pelvic organ prolapse: A follow‐up magnetic resonance imaging study

OBJECTIVE: To quantify morphological changes of pelvic floor in primiparas with postpartum pelvic organ prolapse (POP) during the early postpartum period. METHODS: A total of 309 primiparas underwent pelvic floor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 6 weeks postpartum. Those primiparas diagnosed with postpartum POP by MRI criterion were followed up at 3 and 6 months postpartum. Normal primiparas were enrolled in the control group. The puborectal hiatus line, muscular pelvic floor relaxation line, levator hiatus area, iliococcygeus angle, levator plate angle, uterus-pubococcygeal line, and bladder-pubococcygeal line were assessed on MRI. Longitudinal changes in pelvic floor measurements between the two groups were compared by repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, enlarged puborectal hiatus line, levator hiatus area, and RICA and decreased uterus-pubococcygeal line were observed at rest in the POP group (all P 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Postpartum POP accompanied by poor pelvic floor support will persist in the early postpartum period.