Knowledge of women during the third trimester of pregnancy regarding pelvic floor disorders

Introduction and hypothesis The objective was to examine knowledge regarding pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) among women during the third trimester of pregnancy. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at a large teaching medical center in Israel between June and September 2020. Women in their third trimester (N = 649) were asked to complete the validated Hebrew and Arabic versions of the Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ). The PIKQ instrument examines the knowledge of two major PFDs: urinary incontinence (UI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP). The study population included women over 18 years of age, in the third trimester, who speak and read Hebrew or Arabic fluently. Two separate scores were calculated, one for each section of the PIKQ. The association of questionnaire scores with the different independent variables was examined using Student's t test or one-way ANOVA. Correlations were examined using Pearson's or Spearman's correlation coefficient. Results The Hebrew version was filled out by 405 women, and 244 women completed the Arabic version. The average questionnaire scores were 7.65 +/- 2.8 and 5.32 +/- 2 for the UI and POP sections respectively. Significantly higher average scores in both the UI and the POP sections were noted among health care workers (UI: 10.19 +/- 2.3 vs 7.34 +/- 2.6, p < 0.001; POP: 8.27 +/- 2.7 vs 4.97 +/- 2.6, p < 0.001), women with higher education (p < 0.001 in both parts) and those with higher incomes (p < 0.001 for both parts). Conclusions Knowledge of PFD among women in the third trimester of pregnancy in Israel was found to be low. Founding educational programs for targeted groups may improve both the knowledge of PFD and the quality of life for these women.