In total, the women had an overall knowledge score of 14.25 out of 21, which can be considered satisfactory. The questions that elicited the most "I don't know" responses from the women were: "There is no treatment for anal incontinence (AI)", for 45.02% of them; "Can pelvic floor rehabilitation be offered during pregnancy to patients with incontinence (urinary (IU) or IA)?" for 44.22%; "Is it possible to have anal incontinence following a perineal tear? "(40.24%); "There is no treatment for prolapse" (31.87%); "Is it possible to have prolapse following childbirth" (25.90%); "It is possible to have anal incontinence following pregnancy and childbirth" (25.50%); and finally, "It is possible to have pain during sexual intercourse after childbirth" (25.50%).
Although the knowledge score was satisfactory, some questions elicited a high rate of incorrect answers: "Is pelvic floor rehabilitation systematic in the post-partum period? 46.22% answered "TRUE"; "Pelvic floor muscle exercise can reduce the risk of urinary incontinence" 35.49% of women answered "FALSE"; "How many orifices does the female pelvic floor have? "33.74% of women answered 2 holes; "Watching your weight during pregnancy can reduce the risk of urinary incontinence", 29.48% of women answered "FALSE"; finally, to the question "It is possible to have pain around the genital area after giving birth", 25.50% of women answered "FALSE".
Comparing the group of symptomatic women (n= 139) with the group of non-symptomatic women (n= 112), the knowledge scores were the same (14.37 vs 14.09).
The participants' total information score was 5.18 out of 14, which can be considered unsatisfactory. 79.58% of women had not received information on pelvic floor pain, 74.10% on risk factors for obstetric PFD’s, 70.92% on prevention of them, 70.52% on pain during intercourse, 64.54% on perineal floor anatomy, 60.56% on prolapse, 60.16% on AI, 54.98% on constipation and 49% on UI .
However, 72.51% of women did not seek information on risk factors for obstetric PFDs, 70.92% on pelvic floor pain, 69.72% on preventing obstetric PFDs, 69.32% on pelvic floor anatomy, 68.13% on prolapse, 67.33% on IA, 66.93% on constipation, 65.74% on pain during intercourse and 63.65% on bladder weakness.
Information on IU was the most frequently received information during pregnancy and the most sought-after topic, whereas risk factors for obstetric PFDs were the least sought-after.
Women gave a high level of importance to all the themes, from 96% to 98%, with prolapse and pelvic floor pain having the highest levels.
No link was established between being symptomatic and the desire for information on the various topics presented. Asymptomatic women were just as keen to obtain information as symptomatic women.
For information on the anatomy of the pelvic floor, muscles, the main source of information was the midwife (38.65%), with other professionals coming 6th after the general public (physiotherapist 22.71%, gynaecologist 20.32% and general practitioner 17.13%).
For obstetric pelvic floor symptoms, the primary source of information was the family (31.47%), followed by the midwife (4th), the physiotherapist (7th) (19.92%), the gynaecologist (8th) .
For the topic on prevention and risk factors for obstetric PFDs, the health professionals who provided the information were the midwife (31.73%), the GP (30.68%), the gynaecologist and the physiotherapist (25.90%).
The topics on which women wanted the most information were obstetric pelvic floor symptoms, how to manage them and how to limit them. Most of them wanted to be informed at the start of their pregnancy, using an app and by a healthcare professional in a group or individually.