MR features of the levator ani muscle in the immediate postpartum following cesarean delivery
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Quantification of Levator Ani Hiatus Enlargement by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Males and Females with Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Published on: April 17, 2019
Sebastien Novellas1, Madleen Chassang, Sylvie Verger
1Service d'Imagerie Diagnostique et Interventionnelle, Centre Hospitalier Régional et Universitaire de Nice, Hôpital Archet 2, Nice, France. NOVELLAS.S@chu-nice.fr
Introduction And Hypothesis:
We wanted to show that at the time of cesarean delivery, the active process of labor itself was sufficient to create early alterations of the pelvic floor musculature as detectable via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Methods:
Thirty primipara patients underwent pelvic MRI between the second and third day after cesarean delivery. Ten patients had a cesarean without labor while 20 patients underwent urgent cesarean delivery after the onset of labor.
Results:
Patients undergoing active labor during cesarean had 2.7 times more abnormalities than the patients with cesareans without labor. The abnormalities the most frequently found were a hypersignal in the puborectalis (p = .004), a hypersignal in the iliococcygeus (p = .064) and a defect in the orientation of this same muscular bundle (p = .049).
Conclusion:
This preliminary study suggests that active labor during the time of a cesarean induces early lesions of the pelvic muscular floor.
Related Concept Videos
Muscles of the Pelvic Floor and Perineum
Perineal Layer
The perineum is a diamond-shaped area below the pelvic diaphragm, divided into an anterior urogenital triangle that contains the external genitals and a posterior anal triangle housing the anus. The urogenital...
Assessment of the Rectum and Anus
Rectal Inspection
Begin by inspecting the perianal and anal areas for color, texture, rashes,...
Muscles of the Abdomen
Anterolateral Region
The anterolateral region comprises five paired muscles classified into the lateral and anterior...
The Micturition Reflex
The process begins with bladder filling, where the bladder wall stretches as urine accumulates. This stretching activates the urine storage reflex, mediated by the sacral spinal segments and the pontine storage center. Efferent sympathetic impulses stimulate the detrusor muscle to relax and the internal urethral sphincter to contract, facilitating urine...
Abdominal Regions and Quadrants
The simpler quadrants approach, which is more commonly used in medicine, subdivides the cavity with one horizontal and one vertical line that intersects at the patient's umbilicus (navel). The four quadrants...
