During pregnancy, changes in your body can make it harder to control your bladder. You might notice some urine leakage when you cough or sneeze. You may also have difficulty holding your urine or need to use the bathroom more frequently.
What is urinary incontinence during pregnancy?
Urinary incontinence in pregnancy occurs when you have difficulty controlling your bladder. If you experience this, you might feel a sudden urge to urinate or leak urine between bathroom visits. You might also require more frequent trips to the restroom. Bladder control issues can happen for various reasons, including pregnancy and childbirth.
The good news is that incontinence during pregnancy is usually temporary and typically resolves a few months after your baby is born or the pregnancy ends.
What is the most common type of incontinence during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the most prevalent type. With SUI, you may leak urine when you:
- Laugh
- Cough
- Sneeze
You may also experience urinary incontinence in pregnancy (UI). With urinary incontinence in pregnancy, the muscles in your bladder contract unexpectedly, giving you a sudden, strong urge to urinate. This can make you rush to the bathroom, but you might leak urine before you get there.
What are the symptoms and signs of pregnancy incontinence?
Many people have had an unexpected small leak of urine at some point. During pregnancy, these occurrences can become more frequent. You might notice these changes as early as your first trimester, and the chances of losing bladder control increase as your pregnancy advances.
The common signs of urinary incontinence in pregnancy include:
- Leaking in between bathroom trips
- Feeling a sudden urge to urinate and unable to hold the urine
- Urine leakage when sneezing, coughing, or laughing
- Taking frequent visits to the bathroom to urine
Reach out to the stress incontinence treatment in Coimbatore if you are experiencing urine leakage during pregnancy.
What might be the possible causes of urinary incontinence during pregnancy and after childbirth?
During pregnancy, your body undergoes changes that help the fetus grow, but these changes can also affect bladder control.
Your uterus is located behind your bladder, and as the fetus grows, it can put pressure on your bladder, reducing its capacity. Additionally, hormonal changes during pregnancy cause the pelvic floor muscles, which support your bladder, to loosen and weaken. Increased progesterone levels make these muscles more flexible, allowing your body to adapt to the growing fetus and prepare for childbirth.
However, weak pelvic floor muscles make it harder to hold in urine when you feel the urge to go.
Childbirth, especially vaginal deliveries, can also cause urinary incontinence in pregnancy. The reasons include:
Injury during delivery:
Sometimes, using forceps during delivery can harm your pelvic floor and anal sphincter muscles.
Nerve damage pelvic:
A protracted or challenging vaginal delivery may cause damage to the pelvic nerves that regulate your bladder’s operation.
Pelvic organ prolapse:
During pregnancy or vaginal delivery, your pelvic muscles may weaken to the point where they are unable to support your organs. Your bladder, for instance, may droop or sag (cystocele). Incontinence problems can arise from a sagging bladder.
What are the risk factors for urinary incontinence?
If you experienced bladder control issues before pregnancy, they will probably persist or get worse during pregnancy. Conditions such as recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) can also cause bladder control problems. Other risk factors of pregnancy and urinary incontinence include:
- Obesity
- Vaginal deliveries
- Age
- Large babies
- Episiotomies
- Lifestyle and diet
What are the preventive measures to stop urine leakage during pregnancy?
Talk to your healthcare provider first. They may want to test for a urinary tract infection, especially if you have pain or burning when you urinate. If an infection isn’t the cause, try these practical tips to reduce leaks:
Strengthen your pelvic floor muscles:
Performing Kegel exercises, which involve squeezing and holding the muscles used to stop urinating, can strengthen those muscles and improve their function.
Avoid coffee or tea:
Caffeine can irritate your bladder and make it more difficult to control the urge to urinate. Fizzy drinks can sometimes have the same effect.
Don’t skip water intake:
You might think drinking less water will help, but it won’t. You need plenty of fluids for a healthy pregnancy and to keep your kidneys and bladder working well. Instead, visit the bathroom often and try to empty your bladder completely each time.
Increase intake of fiber:
This can help prevent constipation during pregnancy, which puts pressure on your pelvic floor.
Can pregnancy urinary incontinence go away after childbirth?
For many women, incontinence improves within a few weeks after delivery as muscles and ligaments heal. Leaking should decrease as you recover, especially if you do exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor.
However, for some women, urinary incontinence can persist for several months or even longer.
How long does pregnancy urinary incontinence last?
Most people regain normal bladder control within three to six months after childbirth or the end of pregnancy.
However, the risk of incontinence after pregnancy can vary based on individual factors, such as the type of delivery (vaginal or C-section) and other risk factors like weight.
Sometimes, incontinence that improves after pregnancy can return years later. It’s important to remember that other factors, such as aging and weakened pelvic floor muscles, can also increase the risk of incontinence.
Important Takeaway:
Although pregnancy can make bladder control more difficult, you have more control over incontinence than you might realize. If you’re pregnant and experiencing dripping or leaking urine, talk to a top gynaecologist in Coimbatore . They can suggest lifestyle changes to help manage it.