Is social media an educational tool for pelvic floor dysfunction during pregnancy and postpartum?

BACKGROUND

Pelvic floor dysfunctions are common in women, often linked to pregnancy and childbirth, but remain underrecognized. Though physiotherapy is effective, reliable information is scarce on social media.

OBJECTIVES

To assess how pregnant and postpartum women use social media for health information, their trust in its content, and its impact on their understanding of pelvic floor dysfunction.

METHODS

Participants answered questionnaires on demographics, social media use, health interests, and pelvic floor knowledge.

FINDINGS: The study included 75 pregnant (P) and 75 postpartum (PP) women. Participants were predominantly young (average age: 31.1 and 28.1 years, respectively), mixed-race (P: 41.3 %, PP: 46.7 %), and had completed only high school (P: 43 %, PP: 42.7 %). Social media usage was nearly universal, and most used it to seek health content (P: 86.7 %, PP: 88 %), primarily via YouTube (P: 58.7 %, PP: 49.3 %). Only 57.3 % of pregnant and 49.3 % of postpartum women considered health information reliable. The term "urinary incontinence" was the most recognized (P: 34.7 %, PP: 30.7 %). Few had accessed publications about the pelvic floor (P: 18.7 %, PP: 22.7 %), though many were interested in the topic (P: 65.3 %, PP: 61.3 %).

CONCLUSION

Despite high social media use, pregnant and postpartum women have limited knowledge and moderate trust in pelvic floor health content, highlighting the need for reliable education.