Comparison of the teaching methods of vaginal palpation versus transabdominal ultrasound for the understanding of pelvic floor muscle contraction ─Subjective evaluation from postpartum women─

抄録

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to compare the differences between two teaching methods of pelvic floor muscle contraction, vaginal palpation and transabdominal ultrasound, based on the subjective assessment of postpartum women who learned how to contract their pelvic floor muscles.
Method
A two-armed, randomized controlled trial was carried out. Participants were postpartum women, four to six weeks post delivery. Randomization was managed using an online software cloud service. This study evaluated two teaching methods of pelvic floor contraction, vaginal palpation and transabdominal ultrasound, to explore "intelligibility of and satisfaction with the teaching method" and "confidence and reward for performing pelvic floor muscle training". Quantitative data from a five-point Likert scale were subjected to descriptive statistics, and the two groups were compared using a difference test. The qualitative data from open-ended questions were then coded by category.
Results
Thirty-two participants were allocated to the palpation group and thirty-three to the ultrasound group. The "intelligibility of and satisfaction with the teaching method" scores were high in both groups and no significant difference was found. There was also no significant difference between the groups regarding "confidence and reward for performing pelvic floor muscle training". There was however, one item in the "confidence in performing pelvic floor muscle training" assessment that had a significantly higher score in the palpation group. The qualitative data indicated that both groups were highly satisfied and no negative evaluation of the teaching method was found in either group.
Conclusion
Methods for pelvic floor muscle contraction using vaginal palpation and transabdominal ultrasound were both highly regarded by postpartum women. This study has suggested that the teaching method for postpartum women could be selected according to the different advantages of vaginal palpation and transabdominal ultrasound.