Participants
heart disease, cognitive impairment, pain, psychiatric, pelvic floor muscle contraction, pelvic organ prolapse
PREGNANCY-INDUCED HYPERTENSION, HEART DISEASE, DIABETES MELLITUS, PLACENTA PREVIA, PLACENTAL ABRUPTION, FETAL GROWTH RESTRICTION, THREATENED ABORTION
A trained graduate nurse sequentially recruited participants during routine obstetrics clinic visits at Shenzhen Hospital, Southern Medical University, a tertiary level A public hospital in China, between June and October 2020. Eligibility was first assessed by checking the medical records from the obstetrics clinic, after which those who met the eligibility criteria (see the following paragraph) were provided with an information letter describing the study and invited to participate in the study. After providing written informed consent, eligible participants completed a baseline electronic survey at the same time. They were told to contact the researchers via telephone if they experienced any discomfort or pain associated with the PFMT. After completing all follow-ups, participants received compensation with a gift worth RMB ¥100 (equal to US $14.44).The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) age ≥18 years, (2) having a singleton pregnancy, (3) being at 24 to 28 gestational weeks, (4) being continent before pregnancy, and (5) having a mobile phone with internet access. The exclusion criteria were (1) cognitive impairment and psychiatric conditions, (2) a history of pelvic organ prolapse or pelvic surgery, (3) severe comorbidities found in prenatal examinations that were not suitable for PFMT in pregnancy (such as heart disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension, diabetes mellitus, threatened abortion, placenta previa, placental abruption, and fetal growth restriction), and (4) pain during pelvic floor muscle contraction.