Pregnant urinary incontinence is a fairly common problem. According to statistics, it happens to the third part of all women who bear a child. Is this condition dangerous? How to deal with incontinence and is it worth it? We answered these and many other questions in this publication.
What is this and what are the causes of this condition?
So, pregnant urinary incontinence is very common, but not always. This pathology manifests itself by constant or periodic leakage of urine. Moreover, the volume of discharge in different cases may also be different. Sometimes it’s just a few drops of urine, which, in principle, does not affect the quality of life of the expectant mother, and sometimes the pregnant woman has to change wet clothes several times a day and constantly wear special pads for women. These are not ordinary hygiene products that are used during menstruation, but special fast-absorbing urological liners.
There are five reasons that cause urinary incontinence in pregnant women. The causes of this pathology may be as follows:
- Pelvic floor muscle weakness.
- Reduction of the sphincter.
- An increase in the size of the uterus and its pressure on the bladder.
- Overextension of the walls of the bladder.
- Stress urinary incontinence.
In pregnant women, the baby himself often becomes the culprit of leakage of urine - by moving, he presses on the bubble, provoking involuntary discharge of its contents.
Should I go to the doctor?
Pregnant urinary incontinence is a completely safe condition for neither the woman herself nor her baby. It makes only a slight discomfort in the life of the future mother. But consulting a gynecologist in the presence of such a problem is mandatory.
It is necessary to consult a doctor in order to exclude a very serious pathological condition that sometimes occurs in pregnant women - leakage of amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid can ooze from the fetal bladder even in the case of its micro-ruptures and thinning, and this is fraught with infection in the water and infection of the child with various diseases.
In order to determine the root cause of the discharge from the genitourinary system, the doctor will do a number of studies and tests. During the examination, the gynecologist will also determine how large the abdomen is during pregnancy in a woman and whether she should make adjustments to the diet. This indicator is especially important in the last trimester, when the weight of the future mother increases as much as possible. Excess weight gain is also a trigger for urinary incontinence in pregnant women.
How long does this problem appear?
As already mentioned, there are several causes of incontinence in women in position. All of them have their own nature of occurrence, which determines the timing of the appearance of this annoying problem.
The most common culprit for urinary incontinence is the hormonal background of a woman, or rather, significant changes in it. Under the action of progesterone, muscles lose their elasticity. In this regard, the sphincter, which closes the hole in the bladder, is not able to hold the contents of the organ. These changes occur literally at the beginning of pregnancy, and therefore, incontinence can begin in the first trimester. Also, due to hormonal changes, so-called stress urinary incontinence occurs in pregnant women (a small amount of urine is released from a bladder when sneezing, coughing or abrupt movement). Note that this condition is not associated with nervous shocks and depression.
In the future, the problem arises due to other changes in the woman's body - an enlarged uterus presses on the bladder. During pregnancy, it changes its proportions so much that it displaces all internal organs in the abdominal cavity, so interruptions in the work of many systems are quite logical.
But overstretching of the walls of the bladder is usually observed in the second half of pregnancy. This condition is characterized by a constant desire to empty oneself, and even after going to the toilet the unpleasant feeling does not disappear.
Concomitant manifestations
Urinary incontinence in pregnant women is often accompanied by a number of additional unpleasant symptoms. First of all, they need to include frequent and sharp urge to go to the toilet. The fact is that a deformed bladder, which is constantly pressured by an enlarged uterus, sends signals to the brain about its overcrowding. The woman constantly thinks that she wants to urinate, but she doesn’t get it done to the end, and again and again she has to go to the ladies room. In order to empty the bladder as much as possible, sitting on the toilet while urinating needs to be slightly leaning forward with the body. This posture helps to prevent the large abdomen from pressing on the urethra. During pregnancy, he is not the main factor provoking incontinence, but in any case prevents the expectant mother from doing everything the way she is used to.
Pregnancy Incontinence Treatment
This condition does not require a woman from any special procedures and activities. If she is among the mothers suffering from incontinence, she just needs to be more careful about herself. This primarily concerns personal hygiene. It is important to change underwear on time, use urological pads, wash twice a day, using soap or special means for intimate hygiene. Also, in no case should one restrain urge to urinate. If you want to go to the toilet, then you need to satisfy this need as quickly as possible.
Urine is a beneficial environment for the development of bacteria, and if a pregnant woman does not keep herself clean and dry, she risks "earning" an infection of the genitourinary organs. Her treatment for the expectant mother will become extremely problematic, because many pregnant women are strictly forbidden to take many medications until their birth.
Nevertheless, doctors recommend that their patients use several effective methods that can help cope with incontinence or minimize this condition.
Special exercise: Kegel exercises
The most affordable and effective way to eliminate the problem under discussion is charging for those muscle groups that are responsible for this process. It is necessary to train the muscles of the pelvic floor, and this is done with the help of a set of exercises developed by the American gynecologist Arnold Kegel back in 1940. Since then, his recommendations have not lost their relevance, but despite the widespread use of the method, not all women know how to do Kegel exercises correctly.
Their essence is to train the muscles located between the anus and the vagina. To do this, it is necessary to strain this zone and keep it in good shape for 5 seconds. Then, after a ten-second respite, again compress the muscles of the pelvic floor. Gradually, the time of muscle tension increases to 10 seconds. Up to 10 approaches need to be done at a time, and charging itself needs to be done 3-4 times a day. In this case, the press, buttocks, inner and outer thighs should be relaxed. To test yourself and find out whether you are training the zone, you should delay the urination process during emptying the bladder. By doing this, the woman will feel which muscles need to be activated by performing Kegel exercises.
By the way, such exercise is useful not only for the prevention of urinary incontinence. Women who regularly do Kegel exercises will find it easier to give birth to a child; they have a significantly increased chance that delivery will take place without ruptures or cracks on the surface of the vagina.
What is useful bandage?
First of all, wearing it helps to reduce the load on the back. A fast-growing belly puts a lot of pressure on the woman’s spine, because of this she quickly gets tired, becomes awkward and awkward, and her lower back often hurts. The bandage helps to unload the back, and in many ways makes it possible to eliminate all these unpleasant manifestations of an interesting position.
In addition, the antenatal bandage for pregnant women raises the tummy, which is especially important in the last trimester. The belt supports the stomach, relieving pressure on the perineum, minimizes pressure on the bladder and vagina. This helps to reduce the various unpleasant sensations that occur in women during pregnancy.
Gynecologists believe that with each subsequent pregnancy, a woman’s muscles are struggling to maintain an enlarged abdomen. Therefore, those who bear their second or third baby, it is necessary to listen carefully to the recommendations for wearing an antenatal bandage for pregnant women.
Use of sanitary pads
If incontinence has become a real problem for a woman, does not allow her to freely leave the house on business, or makes her feel uncomfortable, special urological pads should be used. The usual liners that girls use during menstruation are not suitable for these purposes - they do not absorb liquid quickly enough and in a rather small amount. Urological pads for women, on the contrary, cope with this task many times faster. In addition, they reliably block the unpleasant smell of urine. Such products come in different sizes and are suitable in cases where a woman has moderate or moderate incontinence.
When does the problem go away?
Unfortunately, immediately after birth, getting rid of urinary incontinence will not work. Moreover, if the mother was injured during the birth of the baby, the problem may worsen. Because of this, it is so important that the woman does not constrain urination during pregnancy, and after delivery, as soon as possible (within two hours), go to the toilet on her own, without using a catheter. After about two to three months, incontinence usually goes away by itself, but if this does not happen, you should contact a urologist who will prescribe adequate treatment.