How pregnancy affects bladder control? What are the tips to manage it?

Urinary Incontinence during pregnancy

First pregnancy, then motherhood are the most beautiful phases in a woman’s life. Although, that 9-month wait comes with a lot of ups and downs. One of them being the bladder leaks during pregnancy. Due to this, a woman has to suffer a lot of anxiety, and sometimes situations can turn out to be stressful. Fortunately, the problem goes away after the delivery. But, a pregnant woman has one major concern: ‘What needs to be done in the meantime? In this blog, we are going to take you through why it happens and what can be done to manage it.

What is Incontinence?

Urinary incontinence means trouble controlling urine flow. Incontinence is of different types like:

• You feel the urge to empty the bladder, even when you have gone to the washroom.

• You experience leakage when you put stress on the pelvic floor like sneezing, laughing, and coughing.

• You feel the urge to wake up multiple times to go to the washroom.

It is extremely common during pregnancy and further, we have mentioned how pregnancy affects bladder control.

How pregnancy affects bladder control?

Well! There are different ways in which pregnancy can affect the bladder or there can be bowel issues. These are mentioned below:

• Increased pressure

The bladder is present under the uterus. With baby growth, the uterus expands and pressure starts putting on the bladder. So, when you try to do something it starts putting pressure through sneezing, coughing, and laughing.

• Hormonal changes

With baby growth, the hormonal level changes and it can even lead to frequent urination, constipation, and weak ligaments.

• Urinary tract infection

If you have UTI in the past or you have the chance of getting it, then you can experience it during your pregnancy. UTI is common when the woman is pregnant as the baby starts putting pressure on the urinary tract and bladder, which increases the chances of bacteria getting trapped into it.

• Intake of some medications

If you are taking certain medications during pregnancy, then it might be leading to bladder leakage. You must consult the doctor about the medications you are consuming or you need to change some of them.

How can I treat bladder leaks during pregnancy?

• Do pelvic floor exercise

You need to keep your pelvic floor muscles strong as they provide support to the rectum, bladder, and uterus. If you keep them strong, the bladder leaks will prevent it. You should practice kegel exercises and make sure to do that every day. But, before you get started make sure to consult the doctor.

• Do not get constipated

Due to constipation, excess pressure is put on the bladder which puts extra strain on the bowel movement. This will put excess pressure on the pelvic floor. So, make sure that you stay hydrated and eat healthy food options. You should consult the doctor about the diet regime which you need to follow.

• Manage your body weight

As we have mentioned above, the growing baby starts putting pressure on the bladder. No doubt, you will gain weight during pregnancy on your own. But, you should keep your food choices right, to manage your body weight. You should consult the doctor about how you can keep your body weight in the healthy range.

• Avoid Bladder irritants

Certain food options can irritate the bladder and urinary incontinence chances increase. It includes coffee, sugar, spicy food, sweeteners, or citrus food. Make sure that you manage a diary to notice what triggers bladder leaks. So that you can avoid its consumption.

• Use absorbent pads for protection

During the 3rd trimester, the bladder leaks get in excess as the baby is larger. To manage this time, you should use adult absorbent pads to live with ease. Through this, you will get added protection and the leaks will be prevented.