Functional changes in vaginal musculature associated with pregnancy

The purpose of this study was, by us of Kegel's perineometer, to identify functional changes in vaginal musculature associated with pregnancy. Pregnant women registered in the prenatal clinic of a 277 bed university medical center and under the care of private obstetricians were studied. The sample consisted of five primigravid women who were less than 14 weeks pregnant at the beginning of the study. Measurements of the vaginal musculature were obtained once during each trimester of pregnancy in an attempt to identify the occurrence of functional change. The raw data suggested support of the hypothesis that, functional change occurs in vaginal musculature throughout the course of pregnancy. However, statistical analysis of the data failed to support the hypothesis. Statistical correlations among variables brought to light some fascinating and unexpected data concerning the influence of age, height, and weight upon the vaginal muscle measures. Failure to statistical analysis to support the hypothesis may be attributable to the small number of study subjects (5).