Urinary Incontinence During Pregnancy: Care Tips

When a woman discovers that she is pregnant, there arises a glow within her out of the boundless love for her unborn baby.

But pregnancy is also a difficult time for women. They have to be careful at all times. Pregnant women are warned about all the things they shouldn't do or shouldn't eat. Other women in the house, usually their own mothers, will work out a schedule for them. On top of all that many women will be juggling a full time career too.

To make matters worse, pregnant women suffer some rather irritating and embarrassing discomforts. Urinary incontinence is one of them. It means the involuntary passing of urine.

The pelvic muscles of a pregnant woman become quite supple and the extra weight they carry will add strain on the bladder. The age of the woman and her body mass index are also factors that contribute to urinary incontinence during pregnancy.

Urinary incontinence during pregnancy can be brought on by stress, an overactive bladder or both. It is an embarrassing situation, but it is not without treatment. Below we discuss how to deal with urinary incontinence during pregnancy.

Charting it out: While you deal with urinary incontinence during pregnancy, make a chart of the times you go to the bathroom. After a period, you will be familiar with when you need to go and can thus avoid urinary incontinence.

Bladder training: This kind of treatment for urinary incontinence during pregnancy involves timing your trips to the bathroom. At first, go every one hour slowly increasing the time to build your resistance.

Pessary: This is a device that women can use to block the urethra or to strengthen the pelvic muscles. This will help deal with urinary incontinence during pregnancy. But the use of a pessary is only in certain extreme cases.

Medications: There are certain medications that help deal with urinary incontinence during pregnancy. But, pregnant women should not take any medications without first consulting with their doctor.

Kegel exercises: When afflicted with urinary incontinence during pregnancy, practise kegel exercises. This includes controlling your urine midstream during urination for some time. This will strengthen the pelvic muscles.

Moderate weight gain: It is imperative that women gain weight during pregnancy. But this must be gradual and also moderate. Extra weight can lead to urinary incontinence during pregnancy.

Drink your fluids: Fear of urinary incontinence during pregnancy might lead many women to cut down on their fluids. But, this will cause dehydration and irritate your bladder. So, remember to keep drinking your fluids.

What to avoid: There are some types of fluids you can avoid to prevent urinary incontinence during pregnancy. This includes coffee, alcohol, and soft drinks. Also, cut down on citrus fluids.

Sanitary pads: Sanitary pads are a godsend during urinary incontinence during pregnancy to absorb the leaking urine. But do not use tampons as they do not absorb the urine and will cause irritation to the vagina.

The last line of defence: The last line of defence is to cross your legs while you sneeze or laugh or before you try to lift something. All these can trigger urinary incontinence during pregnancy, but it cannot of course be done in company.