Effect of Pilates and Kegel exercises during pregnancy on postpartum urinary and fecal incontinence and quality of life in women

We aimed to investigate the effects of Pilates and Kegel exercises performed during pregnancy on postpartum urinary and fecal incontinence and incontinence related quality of life. We assigned participants to a Pilates exercise group (PEG, n = 22), a Kegel exercise group (KEG, n = 24), and a control group (CG, n = 21) using purposive sampling. At the 3rd postpartum month, UI scores were significantly lower in the PEG group than in both the KEG and CG groups (p = 0.002). The reduction in UI scores from the 1st to the 3rd postpartum month was also significantly greater in the PEG group than in the CG group (p = 0.009), whereas the difference between the PEG and KEG groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.088). Although FI scores significantly decreased within all groups (p < 0.001), no significant between-group differences were observed in FI scores at the 3rd postpartum month (p = 0.393) or in the magnitude of FI change (p = 0.997). The PEG group also demonstrated greater improvements in incontinence-related quality of life than the KEG and CG groups. These findings suggest that Pilates and Kegel exercises performed during pregnancy may be associated with improvements in postpartum urinary and fecal incontinence, with Pilates showing a greater improvement in urinary incontinence and incontinence-related quality of life.