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. 2025 Mar 6;26(1):32.
doi: 10.1007/s11934-025-01260-w.

Urge Urinary Incontinence and Pregnancy: A Systematic Review

Joshua Winograd #  1 , Ananth Punyala #  2 , Christina Sze  1 , Alia Codelia-Anjum  3 , Dean Elterman  4 , Kevin C Zorn  5 , Naeem Bhojani  6 , Bilal Chughtai  7
Affiliations

Urge Urinary Incontinence and Pregnancy: A Systematic Review

Joshua Winograd et al. Curr Urol Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: To identify risk factors for urge urinary incontinence (UUI) in the prenatal period and following pregnancy. Characterization of prevalence of and interventions for UUI during this period were also examined.

Recent findings: A total of 1850 studies were initially identified through a database search. After removing duplicates (308 studies), 102 studies underwent full-text review following title and abstract assessment. After applying further selection criteria, 37 articles were included in the review. The studies span from 1993 to 2020 and involved sample sizes ranging from 58 to 6369 women, with participant ages averaging from under 19 to 39 years old. Body mass index, gestational diabetes mellitus, maternal age, parity, a history of urinary incontinence, and instrumental vaginal deliveries, that contribute to the onset or exacerbation of UUI. There was a large focus on patient questionnaires on symptoms. Analyzing data from over 25,000 patients, our study identifies several risk factors, both non-interventional and interventional that contribute to the onset or exacerbation of UUI. The strong focus on patient questionnaires on symptoms, and only secondary focus on quality of life, sexual function, or mental health point to a large gap in the literature where more work can be done.

Keywords: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS); Post-partum incontinence; Urge urinary incontinence (UUI).

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Human/Animal Research: This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors. Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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