Urinary incontinence during pregnancy: prevalence, experience of bother, beliefs, and help-seeking behavior

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 behavio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Urogynecology Journal 2021-03, Vol.32 (3), p.695-701
Main Authors: Moossdorff-Steinhauser, Heidi F. A., Berghmans, Bary C. M., Spaanderman, Marc E. A., Bols, Esther M. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Female
Gynecology
Help seeking behavior
Humans
Information seeking behavior
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original
Original Article
Pelvis
Pregnancy
Prevalence
Quality of Life
Social networks
Surveys and Questionnaires
Urinary incontinence
Urinary Incontinence - epidemiology
Urine
Urogenital system
Urology
Womens health
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Summary: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  
ISSN:0937-3462
1433-3023
1433-3023
DOI:10.1007/s00192-020-04566-0