Urinary incontinence in pregnant women and its relation with socio-demographic variables and quality of life

Objective

To investigate the occurrence of urinary incontinency (UI) in pregnant women and its relationship with socio-demographic variables and quality of life.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted to investigate 495 women using the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire – Short Form (ICIQ-SF). The survey was conducted on the same day of delivery, with the volunteers still in the maternity ward. Statistical analysis of the comparison between groups 1 (incontinence) and 2 (continent) was done using chi-square test for comparison of proportions of women with and without urinary incontinency and logistic regression analysis.

Results

From the total of 495 women studied, 352 (71%) reported having had UI during the last four weeks of pregnancy. Group 1 presented the ICIQ-SF median score of 11 (range 3– 21), considered as severe impact in quality of life. Logistic regression analysis showed that there was a closer relation between the self-report of UI with the following variables: level of education below 8 years (OR: 2.99; p < 0.001), black women (OR: 2.32; p = 0.005), women with more than 3 children (OR: 4.93; p < 0.001), obese (OR: 4.22; p < 0.001) and normal vaginal delivery (OR: 2.59; p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The majority of pregnant women have UI, negatively affecting the quality of their lives.