Does Pregnancy Leave a Lasting Problem with Urinary Incontinence?

Urinary incontinence at some point during pregnancy is not unusual for most women. The involuntary leaking of urine, whether it is light or heavy, frequent or infrequent varies from woman to woman and from pregnancy to pregnancy. Incontinence can begin during pregnancy and continue well after the baby is born. Some women are fine immediately after giving birth, but then they begin experiencing incontinence problems years later in their forties. However, the type of urinary incontinence experienced during pregnancy is frequently very different from the type of incontinence experienced after the baby is born.

Urinary Incontinence During Pregnancy

During pregnancy a woman usually experiences stress incontinence where there is increased pressure on the bladder from the growing baby. This type of incontinence occurs when the bladder sphincter is simply not strong enough to hold the increased pressure. While a woman may also experience overactive bladder and need to urinate more frequently during pregnancy, stress incontinence is by far the most common form of incontinence to occur in pregnant women. Frequently a pregnant woman is walking a fine line with stress incontinence during her pregnancy, and while she may for the most part be just fine a single cough or sneeze may be all that is needed to bring on incontinence.

Urinary Incontinence After Pregnancy

Once the baby is born stress incontinence is generally no longer a problem because the baby is no longer sitting on Mum’s bladder. However, a woman may still experience problems with incontinence because the whole ordeal of childbirth can really weaken the muscles of the pelvic floor giving way to incontinence from an overactive bladder. Actually any one of a number of problems may affect the bladder after childbirth including the following:

• The general shifting of internal organs including the bladder and urethra.
• An episiotomy cut to help reduce tearing of the pelvic floor muscles during delivery
• Damage to fine nerves surrounding the bladder.

Treating Urinary Incontinence Due to Pregnancy

Depending on the cause of the incontinence, a woman has several options for treating urinary incontinence during her pregnancy. She can address the problem by altering her behavior and timing her bathroom visits. By scheduling her liquid intake and visits to the bathroom, a woman can frequently control light stress incontinence. Then the woman can gradually increase the amount of time between bathroom visits until she is up to 3 or 4 hours comfortably between visits.

If the problem is persistent enough there are devices that can be used to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor or even to block the urethra. Medications are also available, for example, to control spasms and calm an overactive bladder.

Exercising is another option to help with incontinence if the problem stems from weakened pelvic floor muscles. Kegel exercises in particular can dramatically improve the function of the urethra and the rectal sphincter though it may take one to three months before these exercises pay off.

If, after having her baby and doing Kegel exercises for two to three months, the new mother does not see an improvement in her incontinence, she should immediately let her doctor know as there may be a more serious underlying problem that needs medical attention. If left untreated it is possible for light incontinence to cause damage that may show up later as a more severe incontinence.

Urinary Incontinence Years Later

One thing that women should know is that after giving birth to their babies they may recover completely from the ordeal of pregnancy and birth; however the experience of childbirth can play a huge part in a woman’s risk for future incontinence. There are so many factors that can increase the risk of incontinence later in life like excessive weight gain, the episiotomy cut, a long and stressful labour, a large baby, a vaginal delivery, or any birth that involves excessive trauma to the tissues in the region of the pelvic floor. All of these things increase the likelihood of a woman experiencing stress incontinence in her later years.

Does this mean that a woman should not have a baby? Of course not! But it does mean that she should take time to care for herself each time that she is pregnant. By keeping her muscles in shape, not gaining too much weight, and consulting her medical professional if she has any questions about urinary incontinence she can stack the deck in her favour regarding her urinary health. By paying special attention to any problems encountered during pregnancy, a woman can help stave off big health problems in her later years.

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