Becoming pregnant for the first time is a wonderful thing. However along with the blessing of new life is the unfortunate fact that you will soon suffer from a wide range of unpleasant and awkward conditions! Even if you treat these as all part of the experience, it is worth learning some tips to help manage symptoms when they occur. Urinary incontinence is one of the more problematic of the common pregnancy ailments, with most women experiencing the condition to some extent. The frequency of occurrence and the amount of urine that leaks can vary wildly, with less severe cases being easy to ignore, or address with light incontinence pads.
Incontinence can occur at any time during pregnancy, and it can even last past the birth of the child. Some women even experience incontinence on an ongoing basis after pregnancy, requiring treatment down the track to fix the problem. Pregnancy causes many changes in the body, and incontinence can be caused by several of these. The most common is simply the extra pressure that the growing child places on the bladder.
Ongoing incontinence after birth is caused by weakening of the muscles that can occur while giving birth. If you do experience some incontinence, incontinence pants or pads can similarly be of assistance. Once you have recovered from giving birth, it is worth looking at some pelvic floor exercises to help you strengthen and regain full function in the pelvic floor muscles. If the problem persists for more than a few months it is worthwhile seeking medical advice. There are a range of minor surgical options that are helpful in addressing incontinence. These include inserting a small device to tighten the urethra, called a sling. If the problem is that the bladder has become displaced during pregnancy, there are also treatment options to adjust the bladder to its normal position. Of course, none of this should put anyone of the wonderful experience of giving birth. Armed with some basic knowledge though, you can tackle these complications head on and without concern.
No related posts.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post! Why is this information not shared with women BEFORE they have babies? I may have thought twice about it had I known then what I know now! Ok – no I wouldn’t. However, the fact is – even with all of those ideas for ‘fixing’ the issue – there is 1 that can’t be fixed.
For instance, for myself, my children (2 years apart) both got stuck in my pelvis – so the forceps were used to get them out. Unfortunately, the ‘specialist’ who delivered them butchered me. So, 6 episiotomies (4 corrective surgeries) later, according to my latest OBGYN (who performed this last corrective surgery) – I now have no pelvic floor left.
I won’t go into details about what each surgery involved – and what each specialist said about the 1st one who’d butchered me – but suffice it to say, my birth stories are the the ones that everyone crosses their legs in sympathy for.
I wouldn’t change a thing – I love my children (10 and 8 yrs) and they are worth every bit of what I’ve gone through. What’s amazing is, I’ve now suffered from incontinence for years – and only just realized recently that I was incontinent. I suffer from the stress incontinence – the sneezing, laughing, coughing one. It’s so much easier to deal with now that I know what it is.
I am a women’s health physical therapist and I would like to stress the importance of strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. Whether or not surgery, medication, pessary device, or conservative therapy is your choice, strengthening exercises should be performed to prevent further problems. Physical therapy is an option with no side effect. With a women’s health physical therapist you will not only learn how to perform a Kegel contraction correctly, but you will be taught about optimal posture to hold that gives your pelvic floor the most support, and the other muscles you must strengthen around your abdomen and pelvis to assist your pelvic floor. All three of these key components are important for resolution of your symptoms!