BJOG Editor's Choice

Findings from a UK-wide study of 639 402 primiparous women who had a singleton, vaginal, live birth between 2004 and 2011, and who also had a second birth by March 2012, show the mode of delivery and recurrence of tears at the second birth and the rate of faecal incontinence 12 years after delivery does not differ between women who have only elective caesarean sections.