Prospective cohort study "Investigating antenatal pelvic floor training using a vaginal balloon device in Czech women", conducted by Dr. Fousek and his team, was published in the prestigious British Journal of Midwifery following 6 years of intensive research (February 2023, Vol. 31, No. 2).
The study shows that the prenatal preparation of the pelvic floor with Aniball medical device from the 36th week of pregnancy in women giving birth to a baby head first reduces the incidence of episiotomy (cases: 34% vs. controls: 59%; P = 0.007) and the total number of birth injuries (80 vs. 97%, P = 0.005).
This study examined the results of births in Czech first-time mothers giving birth vaginally head first and compared the differences between women exercising with Aniball and non-exercising women.
The study concluded that Aniball helps to prevent injury of the perineum by episiotomy. It confirmed that Aniball is safe - its use does not increase the risk of damage to the pelvic floor and does not cause urogynaecology problems later on. It refuted the opponents' fears that Aniball violated the integrity of the pelvic floor and worsened the quality of a woman’s life after childbirth.
More frequent exercise does not lead to a further reduction in the number of birth injuries or degrees of tears. On the contrary, less frequent exercise (every other day) seems to be more beneficial.
The most frequent maximum circumference of the balloon was 25 cm - this confirms that it is not desirable to inflate the balloon further. The aim of the training is to practice the relaxation of the pelvic floor and not to reach the largest circumference of the balloon.
The practising women did not indicate a decrease in life quality (in terms of incontinence or sexual dysfunction) after childbirth. On the contrary, incontinence and deterioration of love life quality after childbirth were reported by more women who did not exercise: Stress incontinence (p = 0.066) and sexual dysfunction (p = 0.14).
Clinical study The possibility of antepartal prevention of episiotomy and perineal tears during delivery (2016) confirmed that a balloon is the most effective method of birth injury prevention.
