ABSTRACT
Urinary and/or fecal incontinence and genital prolapse are considered to be inevitable sequelae of a vaginal birth. One in every three women will experience incontinence during her lifetime and, of these, up to 65% will recall that it began either during pregnancy or after childbirth (8) . Clinical and epidemiologic studies strongly indicate that women who undergo a vaginal delivery are at higher risk of subsequent incontinence than nulliparas and those who undergo cesarean section. This is most likely related to the detrimental impact of vaginal delivery on the pelvic floor ( 9-15 ). Furthermore, it appears that the first vaginal delivery is the time when women sustain the most significant damage ( 13 , 16 ). However the effects of mode of delivery with increasing parity is less certain.
