There’s a lot going on in your body during pregnancy, what with hormones adapting to the change, new sensations you might not be used to, and your organs moving to accommodate an entire new human. The body is amazing… but it can also be pretty annoying, especially when it comes to dealing with pregnancy incontinence, or urine leaks you can’t control. Pregnancy incontinence is pretty normal (a side effect, we guess, of a new human pushing up against your bladder), but it affects women differently and at different times.
What is pregnancy incontinence?
To understand why pregnancy incontinence happens, it’s helpful to understand how the bladder works. Basically, the bladder sits right above your pelvic bones and fills with urine throughout the day. When it’s getting full, you feel an urge to pee. The urethra is connected to your bladder and surrounded by muscles that keep it closed; when you need to pee, those muscles relax and the urethra opens, letting the urine flow from the bladder.
Pregnancy alters this pelvic status quo, which can lead to pregnancy incontinence. You might experience stress incontinence, meaning you experience leaks every time you sneeze, laugh, or exercise. You might also feel the need to pee so often and so strongly that you can’t make it to a bathroom in time. Pregnancy incontinence can occur for a number of reasons:
- Pressure: As your baby grows, it places extra pressure on your bladder. Simple movements like walking, running, or sneezing can also put pressure on it, making it more likely to empty.
- Weight: Gaining more weight than recommended during pregnancy can also lead to pregnancy incontinence because—again—it places extra pressure on the bladder.
- Hormones: Pregnancy hormones make joints and tissues more elastic to prepare for delivery, but this in turn also weakens muscles supporting the bladder and urethra.
How common is pregnancy incontinence?
Pregnancy incontinence is actually really common. About 25–45 percent of all women suffer from bladder leaks, and one study found that 63 percent of these women started experiencing it during pregnancy. So if that’s you, you’re definitely not alone.
How can pregnancy incontinence be managed?
There are a number of proven ways to help you deal with pregnancy incontinence.
- Do Kegel exercises. Kegels are one of the best ways to manage pregnancy incontinence long-term. We recommend doing at least three sets of 10 Kegels every day—and you should see (or feel) results in a few weeks. Try holding each Kegel for 10 seconds. If you’ve never done Kegels before, next time you go the bathroom, try stopping your stream of urine. That muscle contraction is the same as what you do in a Kegel exercise. These can be done anywhere: while driving, at work, while watching TV… you get the idea.
- Schedule your pee breaks. There’s no getting around the fact that the extra pressure on your bladder makes you want to pee way more often. But it might take a while to get used to—and at times when it would take a while for you to get to the restroom. Doctors recommend making sure to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes. Then, increase this time to an hour, then 90 minutes, then eventually two hours. You’re essentially training your bladder by emptying it regularly, making it easier to preempt the urge. You can also keep a log of every time you pee and every time you experience a leak; if you notice patterns, schedule your bathroom breaks accordingly.
- Try pads and liners. There are plenty of great products out there that can help you feel dry and fresh, from thin liners for occasional leaks, to highly absorbent overnight pads, to discreet absorbent underwear. Just keep in mind that, although they look similar, incontinence products differ from period products in pretty significant ways. Because urine and blood have different viscosities and chemical makeups, they need pads that are specifically designed for the right purpose.
- Eat fiber and drink water. Eating a fiber-rich diet helps manage pregnancy incontinence by keeping your digestive tract moving and avoiding constipation, which also places unnecessary pressure on the bladder. And although it might seem intuitive to drink less water if you’re peeing too much, the last thing you should do is dehydrate yourself. Eight glasses a day are still recommended for pregnant women to avoid dehydration and UTIs.
Does pregnancy incontinence go away?
This is the big question. For many women, yes, pregnancy incontinence goes away in the first few weeks after the baby is born. For other women, though, pregnancy incontinence lasts long after pregnancy—sometimes months or years. Pregnancy and vaginal birth can stretch and strain the pelvic muscles in ways that weaken them long-term. So doing Kegels during and after pregnancy can help manage the issue, as can being proactive about finding the right products that keep you feeling comfortable and confident.