Experiences of Peri-partum Urinary Incontinence from a Women’s and Health Care Perspective: A Qualitative Study

Objectives Urinary incontinence (UI) is highly prevalent peri-partum. To gain more understanding regarding the gap between the prevalence of UI and actual help seeking behaviour of peri-partum women, this study aims to understand, (1) how peri-partum women experience UI and which factors influence t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Maternal and child health journal 2023-07, Vol.27 (7), p.1199-1207
Main Authors: Moossdorff-Steinhauser, Heidi F. A., Houkes, Inge, Berghmans, Bary C. M., Spaanderman, Marc E. A., Bols, Esther M. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Beliefs, opinions and attitudes
Care and treatment
Delivery of Health Care
Female
Focus Groups
Gynecology
Health aspects
Health care
Help-seeking behavior
Humans
Maternal & child health
Maternal and Child Health
Medical personnel
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mothers
Pediatrics
Population Economics
Postpartum Period
Pregnancy
Pregnant women
Public Health
Qualitative Research
Quality of Life
Social aspects
Sociology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Urinary incontinence
Urinary Incontinence - epidemiology
Urinary Incontinence - etiology
Womens health
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Summary:Objectives Urinary incontinence (UI) is highly prevalent peri-partum. To gain more understanding regarding the gap between the prevalence of UI and actual help seeking behaviour of peri-partum women, this study aims to understand, (1) how peri-partum women experience UI and which factors influence these experiences and (2) the perspective of health care professionals on UI during pregnancy, and the first year after childbirth. Methods A qualitative approach was used, using semi-structured interviews with adult pregnant and up to 1 year post-partum women and a focus group with health care professionals (HCP’s) involved in the care of pregnant and post-partum women. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results Six pregnant and seven post-partum women were included. Nearly all of these women expressed to be not, or only slightly bothered by their UI and accept it as a result of pregnancy and/or delivery. They were surprised because they were unaware that UI could be a problem. None of the HCP’s routinely asked about the presence of UI during pregnancy. At the post-natal check at 6 weeks post-partum, UI is still not a standard question for the majority of the gynecologists and registrars in contrast to the midwives. Conclusions for Practice The interviewed women with UI during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth were surprised but hardly bothered by their UI and accept it as part of being pregnant or as a result of the delivery. HCP’s do not routinely discuss UI during pregnancy or post-partum. Significance What is already known on this subject? Peri-partum women with urinary incontinence often believe it is normal and will resolve by itself over time. Health care professionals in peri-partum care, although knowledgeable on urinary incontinence, do not standardly discuss urinary incontinence in The Netherlands. A majority of peri-partum women do not seek professional help. What this study adds? The beliefs peri-partum women have on urinary incontinence probably originates from information from a health care professional, friend or the internet. To disclose their urinary incontinence, women need to be timely and structurally asked by their health care professional. A lack of time is one of the reasons why health care professionals do not standardly discuss this topic.
ISSN:1092-7875
1573-6628
DOI:10.1007/s10995-023-03631-6