Pudendal nerve recovery after a non-instrumented vaginal delivery

The aim of the study was to investigate pudendal nerve function after a non-instrumented vaginal delivery. Seventeen primiparae women who had had a non-instrumented vaginal delivery were examined 3–5 days and 3 months after delivery. At both assessments pudendal nerve terminal motor latency (PNTML) was measured. The mean PNTML was found to decrease significantly from 2.64 ms in the first few days after delivery to 1.95 ms 3 months after delivery (P=0.00009). PNTML decreased in all but one of the 17 women during the observation period. Immediately after delivery 9 women (53%) had a pathological high PNTML value, which was normalized 3 months later in all but 1. It was concluded that pudendal nerve function is often impaired immediately after a non-instrumented vaginal delivery, but recovers in most women over a 3-month period.