Your body goes through various changes during pregnancy, resulting in certain issues and discomforts that affect your quality of life. Pregnancy incontinence is a condition where you face difficulty in holding pee and poo. Urinary and bladder incontinence are such troubles that you might go through during your pregnancy. The symptoms usually worsen during the third trimester. Several reasons contribute to bladder and bowel incontinence in pregnant women. If you’re suffering from urinary leakage or bowel incontinence, continue reading to know its symptoms and treatment.
As the pelvic muscles get weakened, bladder and bowel incontinence is common during pregnancy. It is a condition where you’re unable to control your poo and pee. Some women experience leaks, and some may suffer from total loss of bladder and bowel control. More than 50% of pregnant women suffer from bladder and bowel issues during pregnancy. The condition may worsen during the third trimester when the fetus is heavy.
Pregnancy incontinence can be categorised into different types—stress incontinence, urgency incontinence, mixed incontinence, and transient incontinence. During pregnancy, women suffer from stress urinary incontinence, a condition in which they dribble during normal activities like coughing, sneezing, laughing, etc.
Several reasons may cause bladder and bowel incontinence during pregnancy.
● Extra Pressure: The pelvic bone supports your bladder and bowel. Your growing baby puts pressure on your pelvic bones and muscles, weakening your pelvic floor. This extra pressure can lead to bladder and bowel incontinence during pregnancy.
● Hormonal Changes: Hormonal changes can cause changes in the lining of the bladder, resulting in urinary incontinence during pregnancy.
● UTI: When you suffer from urinary tract infections, you are likely to experience urine leakage.
● Constipation: Constipation can also be the main cause of pregnancy incontinence as it puts pressure on your bladder.
● Chronic diseases: Women who suffer from diabetes, stroke, and multiple sclerosis are at a higher risk of experiencing pregnancy incontinence.
The following are the symptoms you may notice during pregnancy when you suffer from bladder and bowel incontinence.
● You may lose bladder control in your early pregnancy
● Difficulty in holding in pee
● Frequent urge to urinate
● Urine leakage
● Frequent visits to the washroom
● Urinary tract infection
Urinary incontinence is one of the early pregnancy signs for which you must consult your doctor immediately. Your doctor will perform tests to check how your bladder works. The common tests to diagnose the condition are pad test, ultrasound, cystoscopy, bladder stress test, and urinalysis. A urine test is performed to check if you are suffering from UTI. These diagnostic tests can help you to detect the medical conditions leading to pregnancy incontinence.
Treating pregnancy incontinence as soon as possible can help improve quality of life. Consulting your doctor in the early stage can avoid worsening the symptoms. Certain activities and a change in lifestyle can also help manage pregnancy incontinence.
● Perform Kegel Exercise: Strengthening your pelvic muscles can help treat bowel and bladder incontinence. Kegel exercises are completely safe to practice during pregnancy and greatly help you gain pee control.
● Keep an eye on your weight gain: Weight gain can worsen incontinence during pregnancy. So, maintain an ideal weight to reduce pressure on your pelvic muscles, which helps to reduce pregnancy incontinence symptoms.
● Increase Your Fibre Intake: Including a lot of fibre in your diet avoids constipation and reduces the chance of pregnancy incontinence.
● Use Pads: Pads keep you dry during accidental leaks.
Several factors increase the risk of bladder and bowel incontinence during pregnancy.
● Overweight: If you are obese during pregnancy, the risk of incontinence increases.
● Age: Age is a critical factor for pregnant women. Women who conceive in their 30s have a greater chance of urinary and bowel incontinence.
● Vaginal delivery: If your previous delivery was vaginal, there are chances that you suffer from pregnancy incontinence.
● Unhealthy eating habits: Intake of foods like caffeinated drinks, frizzy drinks, and spicy dishes can irritate your bladder, resulting in bladder incontinence.
Urinary incontinence can be a sign of a serious medical condition called organ prolapse. It is a condition where pelvic floor muscles no longer support the bladder or bowel. There are also chances of these organs sliding down through your vagina.
You may experience mild symptoms of pregnancy incontinence during pregnancy. The symptoms of bowel incontinence in the third trimester may worsen. It is always better to prevent incontinence during pregnancy to avoid complications.
● Do Pelvic Floor Exercise: Try holding and squeezing your pelvic muscles for five to ten seconds. Repeat it three times a day.
● Train Your Bladder: Note down the time interval between your pees. Try to visit the bathroom before you leak. Try increasing the time between two bathroom visits.
● Maintain Healthy Weight: Make sure you do not put on extra weight during pregnancy. Maintain an ideal weight so you do not stress your pelvic muscles.
● Empty Your Bladder: Practice the habit of emptying your bladder before you start any physical activity. This avoids leakage.
Pregnancy incontinence is usually an early symptom of pregnancy. Pregnant women who lose control of pee and poo are said to suffer from bladder and bowel incontinence. It is caused due to the weakening of the pelvic muscles with extra pressure. You may recover from incontinence after your delivery. Regular pelvic exercises like kegel help to treat and prevent pregnancy incontinence. It is safe for pregnant women to rely on natural ways to treat pregnancy incontinence.
You can treat bladder and bowel incontinence well by practising pelvic floor exercises, a healthy lifestyle, and diet changes.
You can naturally stop bowel incontinence by increasing your fluid intake, eating fibre-rich food, and performing pelvic floor exercises.
Yes, there may be a link between your bowel and bladder issues. If you are suffering from constipation, you may have a constant urge to pee. Muscle dysfunction can also be the cause of both bowel and bladder issues.
● Leaking stools
● Urine leakage when sneezing, coughing, lifting and laughing
● Sudden urge to urinate
● Frequent urination.
● Difficulty in controlling poo and pee.
