Effect of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training With Smartphone Reminders on Women in the Postpartum Period: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Importance Standard postpartum pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) can effectively reduce the incidence of pelvic floor dysfunction diseases. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the adherence of PFMT with smartphone application reminders on women in the postpartum period. Study Design We conducted a randomized controlled trial. This single-center randomized (1:1) controlled study included primiparous women admitted to Tongji Hospital between March 2022 and June 2022 (ChiCTR2200059157). Every puerpera was given pelvic floor muscle (PFM) assessment and PFMT guidance at 6 weeks after delivery. After randomization, women in the intervention group received daily training reminders from the smartphone application WeChat. Adherence to PFMT, a symptom of stress urinary incontinence, and PFM characteristics were measured 3 months later. Results A total of 148 participants were included in the final analysis (76 in the intervention group and 72 in the control group). The adherence rate of daily PFMT was higher in the intervention group than in the control group (53.9% vs 20.8%, P = 0.00) at 3-month follow-up. In addition, participants in the intervention group showed higher peak surface electromyography of PFMs (39.8 ± 6.2 vs 37.5 ± 5.9 μV, P = 0.03) and longer PFM endurance (8.1 ± 2.0 vs 7.3 ± 2.0 seconds, P = 0.01) than in the control group, whereas there was no difference between the 2 groups in International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire—Short Form (P = 0.60) and the Patient Global Impression of Improvement scores (P = 1.00). Conclusions Smartphone application–based PFMT could increase adherence and improves electromyography of PFMs in the short term but did not affect stress urinary incontinence symptoms in women in the postpartum period.