Postpartum Bladder Leakage - Is It Normal?

Incontinence is a common occurrence after giving birth, but it is NOT normal! Some women resign themselves to living with bladder leakage by writing it off as normal. They think, “Well I had a baby, so now I pee my pants”. But you don’t have to live this way! There are many things you can do to strengthen, relax, and train your pelvic floor (the muscles inside your hip bones that act as part of your core for stabilization). Women pee their pants for various reasons after giving birth. Some have weakened pelvic floors from the pressure of the baby or due to hormonal changes. Some have tight pelvic floors because they don’t know how to relax these muscles or they have been tensing them nonstop for months. Some may have pelvic organ prolapse that puts excess pressure on the muscles and don’t allow them to work properly. 

You may be thinking, “I had a c-section, this shouldn’t be happening to me…right?” Unfortunately it doesn’t matter whether you had a cesarean birth or a vaginal birth, both can leave you with pelvic floor weakness because you had a baby sitting on your pelvic floor for 9 months! A lot happened in your body during pregnancy that can have lasting effects for years, so even if it has been a long time since giving birth, it’s not too late to train your pelvic floor!

You probably don’t experience leaking all the time - it most likely occurs when you sneeze, cough, laugh, lift something heavy, or during exercise. Postpartum incontinence is classified as stress incontinence because the leakage occurs when the bladder is being stressed. This occurs for about 50% of women after delivery! 

There are exercises you can do to train your pelvic floor. The most common exercise is called a kegel. These are when you draw your pelvic floor up and in, as if you are trying to stop your urine stream. However, doing hundreds of kegels alone may not solve your problems because they only train your pelvic floor to do one thing: contract. Relaxing is just as important! So, kegels can be extremely effective when performed correctly, but are most effective along with a more comprehensive pelvic floor rehab program. 

Another thing you can do is watch what foods and drinks might be a trigger for you. Some common food/drink triggers are coffee, caffeine, spicy foods, and refined sugar. Try to avoid these when possible.

Stay hydrated. It can be tempting to drink less water so you don’t have as much liquid in your bladder, but this is not helpful! Instead, you may be dehydrating your body and could even cause a urinary tract infection. 

You can also try a timed voiding approach. We can help you create a schedule that works for you and can help you retrain your bladder. 

If you are experiencing incontinence after delivery and want a detailed program, tailored to your specific needs, call us today and schedule an appointment so you can get back to living your normal life without having to think about peeing your pants!