NHS Choices page on assisted deliveries updated

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The NHS Choices website has updated its page on assisted deliveries.

If you'd rather not know the risks involved, don't click on the link. If you'd rather know, in case you're in difficulty and are offered a choice between instruments or a c-section, have a look. You don't always get a choice but it can happen.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/ventouse-forceps-delivery.aspx

Page for c-section
www.nhs.uk/conditions/caesarean-section/pages/introduction.aspx

I've looked up some refs, here they are:

www.cmaj.ca/content/166/3/326.short
"Three months after delivery 29 women (3.1%) reported incontinence of stool, and 242 (25.5%) had involuntary escape of flatus. "

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1997.tb10648.x/full
"Thirty-six women (4%) developed new faecal incontinence after the index birth" - 10 months after delivery. Interestingly: "Six of those with incontinence had an emergency caesarean section but none became incontinent after elective sections."

journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Abstract/2007/02000/Incidence_of_Fecal_Incontinence_After_Childbirth.8.aspx
Surveys were mailed to 21,824 eligible postpartum women. A total of 8,774 women responded (40%) to the survey, 2,569 (29%) of whom reported experiencing fecal incontinence since delivery (3-6 months). This study is probably biased by the low response rate.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1999.tb08269.x/full
"Eighty percent of the women answered all questionnaires. At five months postpartum, 2% of the women had symptoms of faecal incontinence and 25% had symptoms of involuntary flatus. At nine months postpartum, 1 % of the women had symptoms of faecal incontinence and 26% had symptoms of involuntary flatus. The majority of the women had infrequent symptoms and a decrease in severity was noted at nine months."

So it looks like 2-4% of women are "incontinent of stool" in the year following childbirth. The figures of 25% are for farts escaping involuntarily.