Urinary Incontinence, Pelvic Floor Care, and Support Preferences Among Parous Women: A Cross-Sectional Online Survey.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Urinary incontinence (UI) is common after childbirth, but uptake of care may be limited. We aimed to describe UI burden, pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), care-seeking, and support preferences among parous women in Japan.

METHODS

In March 2026, 1000 parous women aged 20-49 years completed a cross-sectional online survey with equal age-decade quotas. This unweighted, non-probability sample was not nationally representative. Current UI was operationalized as an International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF) total score ≥ 1. Modified Poisson regression estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs).

RESULTS

Overall, 55.8% met this inclusive criterion (558/1000; 95% confidence interval [CI] 52.7-58.9), while 28.1% had moderate-to-severe UI (281/1000; 95% CI 25.4-31.0). Only 1.7% reported a hospital visit specifically for UI; among 416 women reporting leakage on the ICIQ-UI SF frequency item, 56.2% had no intention of seeking care. Overall, 20.7% reported performing PFMT after the most recent delivery and 16.3% reported receiving PFMT instruction. Among women perceiving PFMT as important (51.6%), those who did not report performing it (35.8% overall) less often reported receiving instruction than those who did (6.4% vs 58.9%). Self-reported UI during pregnancy showed the strongest association with current UI (aPR 1.85, 95% CI 1.66-2.07). PFMT instruction was the most frequently selected support option (45.0%).

CONCLUSIONS

In this unweighted, non-probability Japanese online-panel sample, UI symptoms coexisted with limited healthcare contact; only a minority reported performing PFMT. The findings support prospective evaluation of accessible PFMT assessment and instruction but not population-level or causal inference.