Self-perceived natural history of pelvic organ prolapse described by women presenting for treatment.

Introduction and hypothesis: This study aimed to describe the self-perceived natural history of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in women seeking care.

Methods: Women presenting to a university-based urogynecology clinic for POP (n = 107) completed a questionnaire including questions about how and when their prolapse was discovered. A urogynecologic examination including the pelvic organ prolapse quantification (POP-Q) was also performed.

Results: Forty-eight percent of these women sought medical attention "immediately" after discovering a bulge. The median time to seek care was 4 months (range from 1 month to 45 years). Twenty-six percent associated their prolapse with a specific event (e.g., moving furniture or pushing a car). POP was self-discovered by 76% (81/107) of women. Self-discovered prolapses were larger than those diagnosed by physicians (Ba +1.3 vs 0.1 cm, P = .03, respectively).

Conclusions: Women seek medical advice within months of discovering their prolapse. Self-discovery is associated with higher stage prolapse than prolapse diagnosed by health care providers.