[Prevalence and impact of stress urinary incontinence before and during pregnancy]

Female Urinary Incontinence (UI) is a major public health issue given its high prevalence and its physical, psychological and social impact on women's lives. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and impact of Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) before and during pregnancy in parturients from the Viana do Castelo district.

A cross-sectional study was carried out considering a representative sample of the district comprising 336 women who gave birth in the Santa Luzia Hospital between 15th January and 29th March 2002. A questionnaire was submitted to all the women during the postpartum period at hospital.

The prevalence of SUI, defined as Have you ever experienced urine loss while performing an effort? was of 5.4% (IC 95%:3.0-7.8) before pregnancy and 51.5% (IC 95%:46.1-56.9) during the current pregnancy. The factors associated with the occurrence of SUI before pregnancy were multiparity (OR=9.96), diabetes (OR=4.61) and obesity (OR=4.76), and with SUI during pregnancy were multiparity (OR=1.66), diabetes (OR=2.62) and constipation (OR=1.73). The vast majority (88.9%) of women suffering from SUI feel uncomfortable as they feel wet, 48.5% feel nervous or troubled and 57.3% fear that others may notice the smell. During pregnancy, only less than half of the women who experienced urine loss sought help from a healthcare professional, although the majority was interested in having this problem treated.

SUI affects a great number of women from the district before and during pregnancy. SUI is reflected in many aspects of health and mostly affects physical and emotional well-being, but only a small percentage of women reveal the burden of SUI to a healthcare professional. In the face of such evidence, it turns out very important for healthcare professionals to be aware of this reality and concerned to give response to this healthcare problem.