Half of women experience at least some incontinence postpartum: study
A US longitudinal study has tracked the natural history of incontinence in first-time mothers
Rates of urinary incontinence (UI) more than double over the first 30 months after a first singleton pregnancy, US researchers report.
Their study is one of the few to ask women repeatedly about the incidence of UI during pregnancy and through the early years of child-rearing, they say.
Data from 3001 women included in the First Baby Study – designed to see how mode of first delivery affected subsequent deliveries – was used for the secondary analysis tracing the natural history of UI, the researchers report in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
All participants were aged 18-35 and were recruited during their first pregnancy before going on to give birth at one of 78 hospitals in Pennsylvania.
