Urinary Incontinence in Pregnancy and Its Effect on Quality of Life

Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the incidence of urinary incontinence during pregnancy, its impact on quality of life, and the affecting factors. Methods: The descriptive study was conducted on 300 pregnant women who applied to the pregnant outpatient clinic of a hospital in Ordu between December 2017 and May 2018. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Incontinence Quality of Life Scale (ASQI), and Incontinence Severity Index (ISI). Results: It was determined that 91.7% of the pregnant women did not have urinary incontinence before pregnancy and 49.3% of them had urinary incontinence during pregnancy. It was found that 82.4% experienced incontinence during coughing and 75% during sneezing. It was determined that 35.7% of the pregnant women with urinary incontinence had mixed type UI, 31.6% had stress UI and 4.1% had urge UI. When the Incontinence Severity Index score of the pregnant women with urinary incontinence was evaluated, it was found that 54.7% were mild, 43.2% were moderate and 2% were in the severe group. There was a statistically significant difference between UI and the number of years, week, BMI, and type of delivery (p <0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the gestational weeks of the patients with urinary incontinence in terms of quality of life and limitation of behavior subscale scores (p<0.05). Conclusions: Incontinence quality of life levels of pregnant women with urinary incontinence were found to be lower than pregnant women without urinary incontinence.