Abstract
Introduction and hypothesis Pregnancy and delivery are thought to induce urinary incontinence (UI), but its clinical impact is less known. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of self-reported UI, level of experience of bother, and beliefs to gain a greater understanding of help-seeking behavior in adult pregnant women. Methods A digital survey shared on social media was used for recruitment. The survey consists of: (1) demographic variables, (2) International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF), (3) ICIQ Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Quality of Life (ICIQ-LUTSqol), and (4) questions on beliefs and help-seeking behavior. For analysis, descriptive statistics and the independent samples t-test were used to determine differences between help- and non-help-seekers. Results Four hundred seven women were eligible for data analysis. The prevalence of UI rises from 55.1% in the first to 70.1% in the third trimester, with an overall prevalence of 66.8%. Nearly 43.0% of the respondents reported UI occurring once a week or less; 92.5% of women lost a small amount; 90% reported slight to moderate impact on quality of life. Only 13.1% of the respondents sought help for their UI. The main reasons for not seeking help were: minimal bother and the idea that UI would resolve by itself. Help-seeking women showed significantly higher scores than non-help-seeking women regarding ICIQ-UI SF (p <0.001), ICIQ-LUTSqol (p
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 695-701 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | International Urogynecology Journal |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 20 Oct 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2021 |
Keywords
- Help-seeking
- Pelvic floor muscle exercises
- Pre-partum
- Prevalence
- Quality of life
- Urinary incontinence
- QUALITY-OF-LIFE
- WOMEN
- SYMPTOMS
- ICIQ
- QUESTIONNAIRE