Prevention and treatment of peripartum urinary incontinence—a survey of hospital-based maternity services in Ireland

Introduction and hypothesis Considerable proportions of pregnant and postpartum women experience urinary incontinence, but to our knowledge, there are no national data on the preventative and treatment services available in Ireland’s 19 maternity hospitals. Methods Ethical approval was granted. A national benchmarking survey on the range and type of services on prevention and treatment of urinary incontinence during pregnancy and postpartum was developed. Directors of Midwifery and Nursing in each hospital identified midwives and women’s health physiotherapists to complete the survey. Data were analysed descriptively, and results presented as proportions. Results Responses were received from 17 hospitals. Women were asked about urinary incontinence during their first booking visit in 6 hospitals, during all antenatal visits in 2 and the onus was on women self-reporting symptoms in 9. Pelvic floor muscle exercises were taught in antenatal classes in 14 hospitals and management of urinary incontinence in 9. In hospital postpartum, midwives in 13 hospitals asked women about urinary incontinence. All women were seen by a physiotherapist in 7 hospitals and only those who were referred in 6. Women could access the hospital’s physiotherapy services up to 6 weeks postpartum in 3 hospitals, up to 6 months or 1 year in 5 and beyond 1 year in 6. Conclusions Geographical inequity exists in the services offered to pregnant and postpartum women nationally. This indicates that many pregnant and postpartum women, both continent and incontinent, cannot avail themselves of preventative and treatment services within the maternity hospital system and points to the need to review, reconfigure and resource services.