TITLE:
The “Mothers’ Pelvic Floor Support (RECOUP) Clinic” Referral Patterns in Washington DC Area of the United States
AUTHORS:
Yael Baumfeld, Wei Qi, Roni Tomashev, Jonia Alshiek, S. Abbas Shobeiri
KEYWORDS:
Levator Ani Muscles (LAM), Enovaginal Ultrasound, Referral Patterns
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.12 No.12,
December
27,
2022
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Childbirth entails many physical, emotional, and
societal changes and repercussions, including postpartum depression affecting
20% - 30%, postpartum blues, and post-traumatic stress disorder. We
hypothesized that many physical and mental health manifestations of pelvic
floor disorders might be masked by the ordinary course of postpartum recovery
and not referred out for specialized evaluation. Leveraging our RECOUP (Mothers’
Pelvic Floor Support) Clinic, we explored the referral patterns to this clinic
to test our hypothesis. Methods: The
study is a single-center observational study including women who
presented to the RECOUP Clinic. The clinic’s target patient population includes
those with a perineal injury, instrumental delivery,
urinary retention, urinary or fecal incontinence, pain, or pelvic pressure associated
with childbirth. Results: One hundred and one women were evaluated in
the RECOUP Clinic. 45/101 (45%) were not referred but found their way to the
clinic through social media and the internet. Very few patients 4/101 (4%) were
referred with anal sphincter injuries. (52/101, 51%) were referred after many
requests by the patients. Conclusions: Over ninety percent of
women evaluated at RECOUP Clinic are self-referred or referred upon the
mother’s request. There is an opportunity for physicians and other providers to
become more familiar with dedicated clinics for postpartum pelvic floor care.
Enhancing such clinical services allows one to reach patients who otherwise
will go unserved. Summary: Childbirth is an event with substantial ramifications
that should be addressed, and we believe a specialized clinic is an optimal
facility, so the RECOUP was founded. In this paper, we explored the referral
patterns to our RECOUP clinic.