Urinary Incontinence During Pregnancy And Determination Of The Factors Affecting It

Abstract

Introduction: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence in pregnancy and the factors affecting it. 
 Materials and Methods: A total of 300 pregnant women were included. Subjects were examined in terms of physical and sociodemographic characteristics as well as chronic illness status, prenatal and gestational drug use, pelvic trauma and surgical history, chronic cough and smoking, presence of constipation, contraceptive use, obstetric history and urinary incontinence before and during pregnancy. The Sandvik index was used to determine the severity of incontinence in cases having incontinence and the King’s Health Questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life of the incontinent. 
 Results: It was determined that 173 women (%57.7) had urinary incontinence during their pregnancy; and found that having urinary incontinence prior to pregnancy, use of anti-hypertensive in pregnancy, trimester, disuri and fullness sensation of bladder before and during pregnancy and difficulty in urination during pregnancy were the factors affecting incontinence in pregnancy (p0.05). 
 Conclusion: Urinary incontinence in pregnancy is affected by neither advanced physical stresses in the current pregnancy nor by the previous obstetric history; but non-mechanical factors such as the maternal genetic structure and/or hormonal and physiological changes are thought to play role in urinary incontinence development.
 *Presented As The Oral Paper İn The 4th International 5th National Midwifery Congress, master’s thesis