By IANS
Washington : One third of all women suffer from one or more pelvic disorders, including the tendency to urinate frequently, dropped pelvic organs and incontinence, says a new study.
It also found that women who have had vaginal births had double the rate of pelvic floor disorders compared to those who had Caesarean deliveries or women who have never given birth.
Based on a study of 4,000 women aged between 25 and 80, the bulk of whom had given birth, the survey found a fourth of them suffered from anal incontinence, 15 percent from stress urinary incontinence, 13 percent from an overactive bladder and six percent experienced dropping of pelvic organs.
“Many women think this is something they have to deal with as they age and that there isn’t anything they can do about it, but that’s not true,” said co-author Jean M. Lawrence, of Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Research and Evaluation in Southern California, where the study was conducted.
“One of the myths surrounding pelvic floor disorder is that it affects only older women, but the truth is these conditions are extremely prevalent and extremely debilitating.
Karl Luber, uro-gynaecologist at Kaiser Permanente, advised women with these problems to find a physician trained in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery to seek treatment. The findings of the study are being published in the March issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology.