Group-based pelvic floor muscle training for pregnant women: A randomized controlled feasibility study.
Xiaowei Yang, Lynn Sayer, Sam Bassett and 1 others
PMID 39140698WHAT IT FOUND
Group pelvic floor training was feasible for pregnant women, but scheduling around antenatal checks reduced attendance.
Women liked peer support and home reminders. Postpartum symptom scores were lower, but this small feasibility study cannot prove benefit.
Key findings
01Only 16 of 24 women in the training group attended at least three face-to-face sessions, although training diaries indicated almost all did home exercises twice daily.
02Pregnant women said the group format gave peer support and made them feel less isolated.
03At 42 days after delivery, the training group reported lower urinary incontinence impact and lower ICIQ UI-SF scores than controls.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study had only 48 nulliparous women from one hospital, so it cannot show whether the programme works for more pregnant women. Most participants were highly educated (47/48), so the experience may not apply to women with different education or work demands. It was a feasibility trial, not an efficacy trial; the urinary incontinence score differences were preliminary and the sample changed between follow-up points. Follow-up was uneven: at 42 days after delivery, 20/24 women in the training group returned questionnaires but only 15/24 in the control group did, which may bias the comparison. The midwife delivering the intervention was not blinded, and the qualitative interviews included only women from the training group, selected by the researcher. Urinary incontinence outcomes were self-reported questionnaires; the paper did not report objective measures such as vaginal examination or pelvic floor muscle assessment.
Declared interests
The study received no funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that group pelvic floor muscle training is proven to reduce urinary incontinence in pregnant women. The study was designed to test feasibility, not efficacy, and the positive difference at 42 days after delivery was preliminary and not seen at 37 gestational weeks.