Incidence of urinary incontinence and constipation during pregnancy and postpartum: survey of current findings at the Rotunda Lying‐in Hospital

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of pregnancy upon continence and constipation. DESIGN: A questionnaire survey. SETTING: Maternity wards in the Rotunda Lying In Hospital, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. POPULATION: 7771 women who were delivered of liveborn infants. METHODS: Questionnaires were delivered and collected by physiotherapy staff as part of routine postnatal care. RESULTS: Analysis of data using chi2 tests showed significant differences between three parity groups [primigravidae, multigravidae (2-4) and multigravidae (5+)] for symptoms of both urinary incontinence (chi2 = 119.54, df = 2, P = 0.000) and constipation (chi2 = 12.53, df = 3, P = 0.002); the incidence of both constipation and urinary incontinence increased with parity. CONCLUSION: The results of this survey have emphasised the relation between parity and postpartum incontinence which stresses the importance of early diagnosis and intervention.