title: Pelvic floor muscle training for urinary incontinence postpartum.
abstract: The offering of pelvic floor muscle exercises to all women during their first pregnancy is recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. Pelvic floor muscles suffer significant trauma throughout pregnancy and childbirth, which may sometimes lead to urinary incontinence postpartum. However, it is uncertain how effective pelvic floor muscle exercises are in treating this incontinence. Several trials have been analysed to try to understand this question. Issues such as when the exercises were undertaken, how often they were performed and in what circumstances they were carried out, have all been considered. While it is still uncertain whether they are effective in reducing urinary incontinence postpartum, as they are non-invasive and fairly simple to carry out, they are still the first-line management for urinary incontinence postpartum with other treatments being considered if this is ineffective.
authors.affiliation: Staff Nurse, Neonatal Unit, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London.
authors.forename: Bethany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Lecturer, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London.
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Woodward
mesh_terms: D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D059952:Pelvic Floor Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Pelvic floor muscles; Postpartum; Regimen; Urinary incontinence