Urinary incontinence symptoms during and after pregnancy in continent and incontinent primiparas.

OBJECTIVE

Examine patterns of urinary incontinence during and after pregnancy, as recalled by incontinent and continent primiparas.

STUDY DESIGN

Primiparous women reporting no pre-pregnancy incontinence, were recruited 6 to 9 months postpartum. Those reporting current continence and demonstrating a negative stress test were considered "Primiparous Continent" (PC, n=64). Those reporting current incontinence and demonstrating a positive stress test were considered "Primiparous Incontinent" (PI, n=57). Subjects self-administered a questionnaire recalling leakage during and after pregnancy.

RESULTS

Sixteen percent of PC women leaked during pregnancy. Of these, 70% experienced frequent leakage during pregnancy. Seventy-eight percent of PI women leaked both during and after pregnancy. Several patterns arose surrounding leakage frequency for PI women: 19% only leaked frequently during pregnancy, 4% only leaked frequently after pregnancy, and 51% leaked frequently both during and after pregnancy.

CONCLUSION

Nearly five times as many primiparous incontinent women, compared with primiparous continent women, leaked during pregnancy.