Urinary Incontinence and Weight Change During Pregnancy and Postpartum: A Cohort Study
Type
Peer reviewed; Journal articlePeer reviewed
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Date
2010-11-01
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Weight gain during pregnancy may contribute to increased urinary incontinence (UI) during and after pregnancy,
but scientific support is lacking. The effect of weight loss on UI postpartum is unclear. From 1999 to 2006, investigators
in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study recruited pregnant women during pregnancy. This
study was based on 12,679 primiparous women who were continent before pregnancy. Data were obtained from
questionnaires answered at weeks 15 and 30 of pregnancy and 6 months postpartum. Weight gain greater than the
50th percentile during weeks 0–15 of pregnancy was weakly associated with higher incidence of UI at week 30
compared with weight gain less than or equal to the 50th percentile. Weight gain greater than the 50th percentile
during pregnancy was not associated with increased prevalence of UI 6 months postpartum. For each kilogram of
weight loss from delivery to 6 months postpartum among women who were incontinent during pregnancy, the
relative risk for UI decreased 2.1% (relative risk ¼ 0.98, 95% confidence interval: 0.97, 0.99). Weight gain during
pregnancy does not seem to be a risk factor for increased incidence or prevalence of UI during pregnancy or
postpartum. However, weight loss postpartum may be important for avoiding incontinence and regaining continence
6 months postpartum.
Citation
American Journal of Epidemiology 172(9): 1034-1044Publisher
Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthCollections
Copyright The Author 2010