(Poster 170) Pelvic Floor Physical & Occupational Therapy Engagement in the Postpartum Period

Objectives: To assess the motivations and barriers to completing a pelvic floor physical or occupational therapy (PFPT/OT) referral in the postpartum period.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of women 18 years of age and older who delivered between January 1st, 2022 to August 1st, 2024 and received a referral for PFPT/OT within their first year postpartum. All potential subjects were contacted via MyChart for enrollment. A survey assessing experience, barriers, and demographics was completed. Comparisons were made between those who attended PFPT/OT with those who did not.

Results: 1,024 patients meeting enrollment criteria were contacted via MyChart. Initial contact included an explanation of the study, informed consent, and a link to the survey. There was a 12% survey response rate. Most patients were Caucasian and between the ages of 26 and 40 (Table 1). Of the respondents, 69% attended PFPT/OT and 31% did not (Table 2). Of those who attended PFPT/OT, 1/3 personally requested the referral. Of those who did not attend PFPT/OT, 67% had a referral placed without discussion of what to expect from a healthcare team member. Notably, 64% of those who went to PFPT/OT attended 5 or more visits. The most common motivating symptom for attending PFPT/OT was urinary incontinence (48%) followed by pelvic pain (44%). Not surprisingly, the most common barriers to attending PFPT/OT were availability of time (47%), childcare (42%), and cost (34%). These were the same barriers encountered by patients that did attend PFPT/OT but could not complete all desired visits. Almost all subjects preferred a member of the healthcare team to discuss PFPT/OT in person rather than a video or pamphlet. Additionally, they felt the postpartum period was the optimal time to receive this information. Encouragingly, symptom bother did decrease significantly from 6/10 to 3/10 for those attending PFPT/OT. Greater than 80% desired inpatient consultation with a PFPT/OT while on the postpartum floor. Encouragingly, greater than 93% of patients would recommend PFPT/OT to a friend.

Conclusions: Participants were strongly motivated to attend PFPT/OT with a majority completing multiple visits with good symptom improvement. Areas for future improvement include inpatient postpartum consultation with PFPT/OT and reiterating the importance of the provider who placed the referral having a discussion with the patient regarding what to expect. Barriers were consistent with prior research and included childcare, cost, and time. Overall subjects have a positive experience with PFPT/OT and increased utilization would further improve patients’ postpartum experience.