Another week down of performing 4D pelvic floor muscle ultrasound for Nepali women and we’ve really hit our stride. My research partner and I are in a good rhythm now and have become super efficient. We have a local Nepali intern helping us who is an absolute gem, we really couldn’t do it without his help. The hospital has been so accomodating and supportive of us, allowing us to use their space and recruiting participants for us.
The participants are so adorable and gracious. They often give us blessings and thank us for letting them participate. They have also shared that they feel very comfortable with us and end up sending their family and friends to also participate in the study.
There are a few initial thoughts my research partner and I have noticed in collecting the data thus far:
- Nepali women have very strong pelvic floor muscles
- Even though they often have home births, they have far less injury to their anal sphincters (when comparing clinical findings to women in Australia)
- They have a very difficult time figuring out how to do a valsalva push
- While many have mild-moderate prolapses, they have minimal symptoms
It will be really interesting to analyse the data and compare the results to a Caucasian data set. So, it all seems to be coming together nicely. We may never get used to the air pollution, dust, noise and chaos but we are really enjoying the people, culture and food 🙂
Stay tuned for more updates next week!
Delena-Mae PhD 