Teaching and practicing of pelvic floor muscle exercises in primiparous women during pregnancy and the postpartum period

Objective The purpose of this study was to describe the teaching and practicing of pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) before and after delivery. Study Design This was a secondary data analysis from a prospective multicenter cohort study, the Childbirth and Pelvic Symptoms study, by the Pelvic Floor...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of obstetrics and gynecology 2007-07, Vol.197 (1), p.107.e1-107.e5
Main Authors: Fine, Paul, MD, Burgio, Kathryn, PhD, Borello-France, Diane, PhD, PT, Richter, Holly, MD, PhD, Whitehead, William, PhD, Weber, Anne, MD, MS, Brown, Morton, PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Cohort Studies
Exercise Therapy
Female
Humans
incontinence
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Parity
Patient Education as Topic
Pelvic Floor - physiopathology
pelvic floor muscle (PFM) exercise
postpartum
Postpartum Period
Pregnancy
primiparous
Puerperal Disorders - prevention & control
Puerperal Disorders - rehabilitation
teaching
Treatment Outcome
Urinary Incontinence, Stress - prevention & control
Urinary Incontinence, Stress - rehabilitation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective The purpose of this study was to describe the teaching and practicing of pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) before and after delivery. Study Design This was a secondary data analysis from a prospective multicenter cohort study, the Childbirth and Pelvic Symptoms study, by the Pelvic Floor Disorders Network. Primiparous women (n = 759) with term singleton delivery were interviewed 6 months after delivery. Results Sixty-four percent of the women had been taught PFME, most with verbal (76%) and/or written instructions (55%) and a few (10%) during pelvic examination. Women with anal sphincter tears were not more likely to receive instruction or reminders after delivery. More white women (75%) were taught PFME than were Asian women (48%), African American women (36%), or Hispanic women (39%; P < .0001). More women with college education (74%) were taught, compared with women without a college education (37%; P < .0001). Of those women who were taught, 68% performed PFME after delivery, and 63% were still performing the exercises 6 months after delivery. Conclusion Results reveal tremendous potential for the improvement of PFME education and targeting at-risk women in the peripartum period.
ISSN:0002-9378
1097-6868
DOI:10.1016/j.ajog.2007.02.052