Bladder leaks are a common topic in postpartum but not so much in younger women. Which is unfortunate because many bladder related issues, while more common after pregnancy, often occur in people who have never had a baby.
I was one of those people. Did I ever think I had incontinence? Not really. I developed the belief that my bladder was more sensitive or perhaps smaller than most. Ultimately, neither of those scenarios actually panned out and I did indeed have urge incontinence since I was about 8 years old.
I call it the sneaky type of incontinence because it often goes undetected and untreated for many years. For me it was embarrassment, shame and the ease to which I could hide the problem that led me to decades of hiding my incontinence. My mom chocked it up to nerves or a small bladder and when mentioned to the pediatrician, it was more or less shrugged off as a phase.
I detail my personal experience with urge incontinence in the latest Episode of Mama Wellness Weekly, out today! CLICK HERE to tune in on Spotify or HERE Apple Podcasts.
For so many women experiencing urge incontinence, it is easy to hide the problem. Here are a few common behaviors of people with urge incontinence:
- You always know where a bathroom is… like everywhere you go!
- Before leaving for somewhere that may not have an easily accessible bathroom, you go pee several times… just in case
- You sometimes restrict how much you drink to reduce the need to pee
- You often have to “rush” or “sprint” to the bathroom when the urge arises or you might leak
- You wear protective clothing or pads just in case even when you are not menstruating
- When your in a stressful situation, you often have to pee suddenly and it comes with an overwhelming urge
If you said yes to any of these behaviors, I recommend consulting with a pelvic floor therapist. In my experience, urge incontinence is HIGHLY treatable with holistic pelvic floor therapy. There is so much that can be done with a pelvic floor therapist that will help you trust your body again and be able to live your life without always worrying about where the bathroom is.
If you would like to schedule a free consultation CLICK HERE. I would love to be the turning point in your relationship with you bladder!
In Health,
Hilary
