Educating Women About Pelvic Floor Disorders During Pregnancy

June 17, 2025 updated by: The Methodist Hospital Research Institute

Educating Women About Pelvic Floor Disorders During Pregnancy From the 1st to the "4th Trimester": A Randomized Clinical Trial

The purpose of this study is to assess the increase in knowledge of pregnant patients regarding pelvic floor disorders when comparing two educational interventions: written handouts vs interactive workshops.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) are common and significantly affect the quality of life of many women as they age. Pregnancy has been identified as a major risk factor for developing PFDs later in life. Educating women about PFDs is essential to ensuring that they present to care in a timely manner. No study has investigated different education tools during pregnancy. The proposed study is a randomized controlled trial in pregnant patients comparing two educational tools: written materials about PFDs versus an educational workshops led by pelvic floor physical therapists (PFPTs). Pregnant patients will be recruited in the first and second trimester and randomized at that time. Knowledge will be assessed at baseline and again 6 weeks postpartum using the validated Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes will be evaluating referral patterns to urogynecology and to PFPTs from general OBGYNs and assessing any pelvic floor symptoms with the pelvic floor disability index (PFDI-20) at baseline and at 6 weeks postpartum.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

120

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Houston Methodist Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant (prior to 27 weeks gestation)
  • English speaking
  • Greater than 18 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-english speaking
  • unable to provide informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Written Group
Participants received only written handouts with information about pelvic floor disorders, including risk factors, prevention strategies, and information about possible treatments. They receive these handouts at the time of recruitment during pregnancy and again after delivery.
Other: Written Handouts
The written materials were generated using the collaboration of healthcare communication specialists to generate content that is tailored to a younger age demographic of childbearing age regarding their risk of developing a pelvic floor disorder and what can be done to prevent or treat them in the future.
Experimental: Workshop Group
Participants received written handouts and attend a virtual interactive workshop with information about pelvic floor disorders, including risk factors, prevention strategies, and information about possible treatments. They receive the handouts at the time of recruitment during pregnancy and again after delivery. The workshop is conducted prior to completion of pregnancy.
Other: Written Handouts
The written materials were generated using the collaboration of healthcare communication specialists to generate content that is tailored to a younger age demographic of childbearing age regarding their risk of developing a pelvic floor disorder and what can be done to prevent or treat them in the future.
Other: Interactive Workshop
Participants logged onto a virtual meeting platform and listened to a live 20 minute presentation by a pelvic floor physical therapist followed by time for questions, which were answered live. Participants anonymity was maintained by not allowing participants to view each other's name and disabling sharing of video feeds.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ)
Time Frame: < 5 minutes
Validated 24 question questionnaire with two sections to test knowledge on pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence. Scored out of 24 with higher scores indicating an increase in knowledge. Minimum value: 0, Maximum value: 24. Higher scores mean better outcome. Lower scores mean worse outcome. This was administrated at time of recruitment and again at 6 weeks postpartum.
< 5 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Phone Interview
Time Frame: < 10 minutes
One-on-one phone interviews conducted with participants in the workshop education group who experienced both educational tools. A research team member called them after completion of the study and conducted a brief 3 question interview to understand their opinion of the educational tools.
< 10 minutes
Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI-20)
Time Frame: < 5 minutes
Validated questionnaire measuring presence and degree of both of pelvic floor disorder symptoms. Three sub sections with a possible score of 100 for each sub section. Scaled score is a combination of the 3 sub section scores for a total possible score of 300. Higher scores indicates increased symptom bother. Minimum value: 0, Maximum value: 300. Higher scores mean better outcome. Lower scores mean worse outcome. This was administrated at time of recruitment and again at 6 weeks postpartum.
< 5 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

The Methodist Hospital Research Institute

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

August 1, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 5, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

September 10, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 28, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 28, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

July 1, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 19, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 17, 2025

Last Verified

June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PFD Education in Pregnancy

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Clinical Trials on Written Handouts

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in United States

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe