Incontinência urinária na gestação: implicações na qualidade de vida

Abstract

Objectives: to compare the quality of life of pregnant women with and without urinary incontinence, identifying the principal factors that have a negative influence on quality of life during this phase of a woman’s life. Methods: the study recruited 15 pregnant women who had complained of urinary incontinence and 25 who had not experienced such symptoms and assessed them during two periods, between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy and between the 34th and 36th. The study used two quality of life questionnaires (the King Health Questionnaire and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire). The data were tabulated using Excel and statistical analysis was carried out using the Statistica software package. The level of significance was set at 5%. Results: the pregnant women without symptoms of urinary incontinence had a better quality of life than those with such symptoms in the physical, social and environmental sections. The pregnant women with symptoms of urinary incontinence had lower scores for general perception of health and the impact of incontinence between the first and second evaluation. Conclusions: urinary incontinence reduces the quality of life of pregnant women. Other factors, such as lack of social and emotional support, may also have a negative impact on quality of life during pregnancy.