Urinary incontinence and leakage of urine is a common problem seen in many pregnant women. Initially, when the pregnant women feel some leakage through their vaginal area, they get confused whether it is the amniotic fluid or urine that is leaking through their vaginal area and get worried because of this. This is an involuntary action and so it would be difficult for the pregnant women to find it out by themselves. But when simple tests are carried out, it is easy to determine the problem of
leakage of urine during pregnancy.
Impact of the Foetus on the Bladder during Pregnancy
When the foetus grows and days pass on during pregnancy, the uterus of the pregnant women places pressure on the urinary bladder. This causes the urinary incontinence problem in pregnant women. When the incontinence problem persists, the pregnant women tend to leak urine while coughing, sneezing, laughing or walking. The problem increases with the increase in the weight of the baby or during the second and the third trimester of pregnancy when the baby shows significant growth.
Hormonal Changes and Leakage of Urine during Pregnancy
It is a well known fact that lot of hormonal changes occur during pregnancy. Because of the hormonal changes happening in the body of the pregnant women, changes occur in the pelvic muscles causing stretching of the muscles. While getting accustomed to the hormonal changes, the sphincter muscle gets weakened and the problem of leakage of urine occurs. So, most of the pregnant women have this problem until the level of the hormonal changes comes down.
Exercises for Handling Leakage of Urine during Pregnancy
There are antenatal exercises which are specifically meant for pregnancy. There are specific exercises for every problem occurring during pregnancy. Similarly, even for the problem of leakage of urine, it is good to do the pelvic floor exercises after consulting the doctor and under the supervision of a certified trainer. The pelvic floor exercises strengthen the pelvic muscles and improve the strength of the sphincter muscles causing incontinence, thereby reducing the problem of leakage of urine during pregnancy.
Dealing with Leakage of Urine during Pregnancy
There are cases where the problem of leakage of urine during pregnancy persisting even after doing pelvic exercises. There is nothing to worry about it. It depends upon how the pregnant women are able to deal with this problem. Generally, when a doctor is consulted in such cases, they advise the pregnant women facing the problem of incontinence to create a habit of urinating at regular intervals without giving way for incontinence in order to avoid leakage of urine. Moreover, when the pregnant women put on excessive weight during pregnancy, it would add up to the pressure to the urinary bladder. So, preventing
excessive weight gain would help handling leakage of urine during pregnancy.
Will the Leakage of Urine Continue after Delivery?
The problem of leakage of urine persists for few months even after the
delivery until the sphincter muscle improves in its strength. In some cases due to the change of position of bladder or any other organ in the urinary system during pregnancy, the problem becomes permanent. In such cases, it is good to consult the doctor in order to find out a permanent solution to the problem.
There is nothing to get annoyed or ashamed because of the problem of leakage of urine occurring during pregnancy. There is nothing wrong in using panty liners during pregnancy to handle the problem of leakage of urine that occurs during pregnancy. This will definitely provide the peace of mind to the pregnant women who feel embarrassed at times during pregnancy due to the leakage of urine.