Urinary incontinence in pregnancy and factors affecting quality of life

Urinary Incontinence in Pregnancy and Factors Affecting Quality of Life Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting UI and quality of life during pregnancy. Materials and Methods: The study was performed cross-sectionally. The population of the study consisted of 30 weeks and over pregnant women who applied to the gynecology outpatient clinics of Gazi Yasargil ERH between July 10th and December 31st 2017. The sample of the study was consisted of 523 pregnant with in the 95% confidence interval determined by the effect size of 0.3 and 0.05 level of significance. Data were analysed by standard deviation, using mean, ANOVA, t test in the independent groups Tukey HSD and pearson correlation analysis. Results: With that study, it was found that more than half of the participants had UI. it was found a significant relationship between lower urinary tract symptoms and age, educational level, number of pregnancy, gestational week, first birth age, curettage, type of delivery, number of vaginal deliveries, labor more than 24 hours, episiotomy and history of instrumental delivery, constipation, BMI before and during pregnancy, smoking during pregnancy, consumption of caffeinated beverages before and during pregnancy (p<0.05). In addition, there was a negative correlation between all subscales of BFLUTS and all subscales of I-QOL and total score (p <0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that more than half of the pregnant women had UI. It was also found that sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics were significant risk factors for lower urinary tract symptoms and decreased quality of life as UI increased during pregnancy. Key words: Pregnancy, urinary incontinence, quality of life, nursing