IntroductionFemale pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) include clinical conditions such as urinary and fecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Disease-specific questionnaires like the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20 (PFDI-20) have facilitated pelvic floor disorder assessment. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of pelvic floor disorders in Japanese women after different modes of delivery and the association of pelvic floor disorders with epidural anesthesia.Material and methodsWe included 212 women who gave birth at our institution. The PFDI-20 questionnaire (validated in Japanese) was used to evaluate the symptoms of pelvic floor disorders 6-15 months postpartum.ResultsOut of the 212 postpartum women who participated in this study, 156 (73.6%) had symptoms of pelvic floor disorder; the most prevalent symptom was urinary distress inventory in 114 (53.8%) women [79 (37.3%) of them experienced urine leakage related to increased abdominal pressure]. A comparison of the epidural and non-epidural groups to determine the association between pelvic floor disorder and delivery mode revealed a higher disease burden score of 8.67 points in the epidural group.ConclusionThe prevalence of pelvic floor disorder symptoms is relatively high, affecting 156 (73.6%) of 212 women. Accurate diagnosis of women and appropriate and regular follow-up until improvement of their symptoms are crucial. Furthermore, healthcare workers should advise pregnant women on whether to choose vaginal delivery with or without anesthesia. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate postpartum pelvic floor disorder in Japan.