New Bladder Health Mobile Application in Pregnancy

Millions of women experience involuntary loss of urine called urinary incontinence (UI). UI can be slightly bothersome or totally debilitating. Women experience UI twice as often as men. Urinary incontinence can also be a persistent condition caused by underlying physical problems or changes, including pregnancy and childbirth. UI symptom severity progress dynamically and are also sustained over time. High quality evidence shows that pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) during pregnancy effectively reduces the risk of UI during pregnancy and the postpartum period. There is a critical need for a low cost and easily accessible program to prevent UI in pregnancy and postpartum that can reach a large number of women. A mobile health application that teaches UI preventive program during pregnancy has the potential of being a cost effective tool to reach a large number of pregnant women. The Bladder Health Mobile Application (BHmApp) will teach pregnant women new habits and exercises that will keep their bladder healthy during pregnancy and decrease the risk of UI during this period of a woman's life that is considered high risk for developing UI. In this pilot study, it is proposed to evaluate the understand and effectively use the BHmApp, and the feasibility of using the BHmApp during pregnancy.