{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T06:07:20Z","timestamp":1788934040504,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Glob. Women\u2019s Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background\/objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) arises from factors such as degeneration and trauma, leading to weakened pelvic floor fascia, ligaments, perineum, adjacent muscles, and other supporting structures in women. Clinically, PFD manifests as stress urinary incontinence (SUI), pelvic organ prolapse (POP), and abnormal pelvic floor muscle strength, substantially impairing women's health. This study investigated the association between pelvic floor electromyography results in postpartum women at 6\u20138 weeks after delivery and various pregnancy- and childbirth-related factors, with the aim of identifying determinants of impaired pelvic floor function during the early postpartum period.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A retrospective analysis was performed on 1,154 postpartum women who delivered at the Obstetrics Department of Zhongshan Hospital, Dalian University, and underwent pelvic floor electromyography 6\u20138 weeks postpartum. Participants were classified into the vaginal delivery group (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009802) and the cesarean section group (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u2009352) based on delivery mode. The analysis examined differences in early postpartum pelvic floor muscle strength between the two delivery modes and identified factors influencing pelvic floor muscle strength in each group.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Electrical activity of pelvic floor muscles in both the fast- and slow-twitch phases was lower in the vaginal delivery group compared with the cesarean section group, whereas resting-phase values before and after contraction were higher in the cesarean section group. In the vaginal delivery group, independent risk factors for early postpartum pelvic floor muscle strength impairment included pregnancy weight gain\u2009&amp;gt;\u200916\u2005kg, second-stage labor duration\u2009\u2265\u20092\u2005h, advanced maternal age at first birth, episiotomy, perineal laceration, and gestational hypertension. In the cesarean section group, pregnancy weight gain\u2009\u2265\u200911.5\u2005kg, pre-pregnancy BMI\u2009&amp;gt;\u200924\u2005kg\/m\u00b2, gestational hypertension, premature rupture of membranes, preeclampsia, history of uterine fibroids, and full-term delivery were identified as independent risk factors.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Both delivery modes are associated with changes in early-postpartum pelvic-floor muscle electromyographic activity. Altered EMG suggestive of impaired muscle activation is observed more prominently among women after vaginal delivery, while greater changes in resting pelvic-floor muscle tone are noted in the cesarean-delivery group. Cesarean delivery, therefore, does not eliminate the risk of impaired pelvic-floor muscle function or the development of PFD.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fgwh.2026.1835125","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T05:50:36Z","timestamp":1788933036000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A study on the association between different delivery modes and pelvic floor muscle strength in women during early postpartum period"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"7","author":[{"given":"Huanyu","family":"Lin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Zhangzhou Municipal Hospital of Fujian Province and Zhangzhou Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University","place":["Zhangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xuhong","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University","place":["Dalian, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shu","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University","place":["Dalian, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Min","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University","place":["Dalian, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1847","DOI":"10.1007\/s00192-021-04813-y","article-title":"Cross-sectional study of early postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction and related bother in primiparous women 6\u201310 weeks postpartum","volume":"32","author":"Sigurdardottir","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int Urogynecol J"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1479-828X.2005.00363.x","article-title":"Pelvic floor trauma in childbirth\u2014myth or reality?","volume":"45","author":"Dietz","year":"2005","journal-title":"Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"401","DOI":"10.1007\/s00404-021-06022-w","article-title":"Urogynecology in obstetrics: impact of pregnancy and delivery on pelvic floor disorders, a prospective longitudinal observational pilot study","volume":"304","author":"Stroeder","year":"2021","journal-title":"Arch Gynecol Obstet"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"428","DOI":"10.1097\/MOU.0000000000000428","article-title":"Obesity and pelvic organ prolapse","volume":"27","author":"Lee","year":"2017","journal-title":"Curr Opin Urol"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3183","DOI":"10.3109\/14767058.2015.1118041","article-title":"Factors that influence the development of avulsion of the levator ani muscle in eutocic deliveries: 3\u20134D transperineal ultrasound study","volume":"29","author":"Garcia-Mejido","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"382","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rehab.2017.04.002","article-title":"Reliability of pelvic floor muscle electromyography tested on healthy women and women with pelvic floor muscle dysfunction","volume":"60","author":"Koenig","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ann Phys Rehabil Med"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1041","DOI":"10.1007\/s00192-012-1702-6","article-title":"Electromyographic evaluation of pelvic floor muscles in pregnant and nonpregnant women","volume":"23","author":"Resende","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int Urogynecol J"},{"key":"B8","first-page":"779","article-title":"Pelvic floor muscle surface electromyography. 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