Injury prevention during childbirth: The model of obstetrician

Abstract

During childbirth, a technique called manual perineal protection (MPP) is often used to prevent injuries of relevant tissues. The obstetrician uses his (or her) hand to apply certain forces at the perineum in order to decrease its excessive loading during child delivery. Amount of applied forces as well as the correct posture of the obstetrician during the MPP technique are based so far on the experiences and approach of the obstetrician himself (or herself). In order to assess the role of obstetrician and in order to optimize the MPP technique, mathematical models may be of use. This work presents the combination of both experimental measurement and mathematical modeling. In the experimental part, a unique device is developed to measure forces applied by obstetrician during real child delivery. In the modeling part, the obstetrician is represented with an active musculo-skeletal human body model in an AnyBody Modeling System software. Providing forces and muscle activities of the model may lead to the assessment and optimization of the MPP technique.