What are the possible determinants of urinary incontinence during pregnancy? Results of a pilot study

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the frequency, predisposing factors and impact of urinary incontinence (UI)during pregnancyon quality of life (QOL). Materials: and Method: A preliminary cross-sectional survey was carried out among pregnant women from January to June of 2014. A total of 132 pregnant women were enrolled. We used a questionnaire form for sociodemographic features, ICIQ-SF-Turkish version to determine the occurrence and characteristics of UI and Wagner’s Quality of Life scale to assess impact on QOL. Results: : Urinary incontinence was present in 56 out of 132 pregnant women (42.4%); these women were referred to as the UI-present group. The remaining 76 women comprised the UI-absent group. The overall mean age was 27.5 ± 5.1 y (p=0.780), median height in UI-present group was 160 cm (min-max: 153-176, p=0.037 <0.05) and median BMI was 28.7 kg/m 2 (min-max: 22.4-50.0, p=0.881).For women in the UI-present group, urine leakage occurred once a week (n=18, 32.1%) to twice or thrice a week (n=8, 14.3%), few times a day (n=14, 25%), once a day (n=5, 8.9%) and always (n=8, 14.3%). The pregnant women in the UI-present group mainly reported a small amount of urine leakage (n=33, 58.9%) or a moderate amount of leakage (n=4, 7.1%). There were statistically significant relationships between QOL scores and frequency of UI (p=0.002 <0.05) as well as the amount of leakage (p=0.002 <0.05). Impact on QOL scores ranged from mild (n=33, 58.9%) or moderate (n=4, 7.1%) to severe (n=4, 7.1%) levels. QOL has ‘mildly deteriorated’. The following features were found to favour the onset of UI: age of pregnant woman (OR= 0.845, 95% CI 0.268-2.669), occupational status (OR=1.800, 95% CI 0.850-3.810), anaemia (OR=0.939, 95% CI 0.464-1.901), parity (OR=0.519, 95% CI 0.325-0.829), miscarriage in previous pregnancies (OR=1.219, 95% CI 0.588-2.825) and living in rural vs urban settlement (OR=1.800, 95% CI 0.887-3.653).Heigt (p= 0,037<0.05), educational status (p=0.016 <0.05), miscarriage, parity and place of living (p=0.002, p=0.006, p=0.020 <0.05 respectively)were significant in favour of UI-present. Conclusions: : Urinary incontinence was frequently encountered among pregnant women (42.1%). Urinary incontinence distorted the QOL in pregnant women at a mild level and caused life style changes. Frequency and amount of UI were the significant factors in deterioration. Age, parity, miscarriage, being housewife, place of living (rural) and anaemia were the factors in favour of onset of UI during pregnancy. Among them, height, educational status (primary-intermediate school graduate), place of living (rural), miscarriage and parity were statistically significant predictors. It is necessary to pay attention to UI and its impact on women’s health during pregnancy.