Bussara Sangsawang. Effect of pelvic floor muscle exercise program on severity of stress urinary incontinence among pregnant women . Master's Degree(Maternal-Newborn and Women's Health Nursing). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2007.
Effect of pelvic floor muscle exercise program on severity of stress urinary incontinence among pregnant women
Abstract:
This research was a quasi-experimental study aimed at examining the effect of a
pelvic floor muscle exercises program for pregnant women with stress urinary incontinence
on decreasing severity of the symptoms. The sample was composed of 66 pregnant women,
with gestational age between 20 – 30 weeks who had stress urinary incontinence and were
receiving antenatal care at Siriraj Hospital. The sample was selected by the purposive
sampling method and divided into experimental and control groups, with 35 pregnant
women in the control group and 31 pregnant women in the experimental group. The sample
in the control group received only the usual nursing care, whereas those in the experimental
group participated in the pelvic floor muscle exercises program in combination with the
usual nursing care. Data were collected by: 1) data collection instruments: personal
information questionnaire, stress urinary incontinence assessment tool, frequency and
volume of stress urinary incontinence assessment tool, perceived severity of stress urinary
incontinence assessment scale and record of frequency and volume of stress urinary
incontinence, and 2) intervention instruments: the educational plan, the plans for pelvic floor
muscle exercise training, the handbook and teaching aids. The data obtained was then
analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square, t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and
Mann-Whitney U-test.
The outcomes that were measured in this study included severity of stress urinary
incontinence that comprised: 1) frequency of stress urinary incontinence; 2) volume of urine
leakage and 3) perceived severity of stress urinary incontinence.
The finding revealed that after participation in the pelvic floor muscle exercise
program in the experimental group, the frequency of stress urinary incontinence, volume of
urine leakage and score of perceived severity of stress urinary incontinence were
significantly lower than that before participation in the program (p<.001). In a comparison
between both groups the frequency of stress urinary incontinence, volume of urine leakage
and score of perceived severity of stress urinary after participation in the program in the
experimental group were significantly lower than for those in the control group (p<.001).
The results of the study suggest that a pelvic floor muscle exercise program should
be provided for pregnant women who have stress urinary incontinence to decrease severity
of the symptoms. An effort to make the pelvic floor muscle exercise program accessible and
sustainable is recommended