Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: To examine the association among pelvic girdle pain (PGP), urinary incontinence (UI) and pelvic floor muscle (PFM) function in pregnant women in second and third trimester.

Methods: 300 pregnant women who admitted for standard pregnancy care were enrolled in the study. Urinary incontinency was measured via the international consultation on incontinence questionnaire short form. Pelvic girdle pain was diagnosed according to existing guidelines. Vaginal examination assessed pelvic muscles contract- relax patterns and muscle strength. The software stata version 13 (Stata Corp., TX, USA) was used for data analysis.

Results: Overall 300 women (150 with PGP and 150 without PGP) were included in final analyses. There was not significant differences between the demographic data including, body mass index before pregnancy, maternal age, mode of delivery. Prevalence of urinary incontinence in women with pelvic girdle pain was 41.5 percent (CI 95%: 32.01- 51.48) while the prevalence of urinary incontinence in women without pain was 21.9 percent (CI 95%: 14.99-30.03). Using logistic regression, the relationship between urinary incontinence and pelvic girdle pain was significant. (CI 95%: 1.07-3.31, P=0.02). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between PGP and pelvic floor muscle function and results showed that pelvic floor muscle strength in women with PGP was significantly lower than women without PGP. (CI 95%: 0.24-0.68, OR= 0.4, P<0.001). The duration of the contraction of the pelvic floor muscles in patients with PGP was significantly shorter than women without PGP. (CI 95%: 0.21-0.60, OR =0.35, P<0.001).

Conclusion: There was a significant association between pelvic girdle pain and urinary incontinence during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and also the pelvic floor muscle strength and duration of the contraction of the pelvic floor muscles in women with pelvic girdle pain was significantly lower than those without PGP.