Bladder leakage ruining your life? Here's everything you need to know (including something that'll help)

Bladder leakage, caused by pressure on the bladder, can result in accidental urine leakage during everyday activities like laughing, sneezing, coughing, exercising, and God forbid you’re invited onto a bouncy castle at a child's party. Common triggers include menopause, pregnancy, and childbirth, as well as an over-tight pelvic floor from strenuous exercise. It may be something that happens regularly or only occasionally, and it can vary from a few dribbles to a complete loss of bladder control.

Understandably, this leaves many women feeling stressed, embarrassed, and lacking confidence to exercise or visit public places without restrooms. In fact, we often see our Mumsnet users take to our Talk boards to share how they’re suffering in silence and find themselves misled by information. So, it’s not surprising women are left feeling anxious over the matter, and understandably so.

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If you are among those who suffer from bladder leakage, we hope to myth bust and share exactly the thing you need to help you live life as you wish… And get back on the bouncy castle with your DC!

Common misconceptions about bladder leakage

Myth #1: Older women are the only ones affected

Perhaps the biggest misconception is that bladder leakage only happens when you’re above a certain age. While the chances do indeed increase, the three biggest triggers (pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause) mean that women can be affected from a young age. Plus, cases resulting from an over-tight pelvic floor caused by strenuous exercise can affect women from an even earlier age.

Myth #2: Pelvic floor exercises are a cure-all

When it comes to regaining control of your bladder, especially after childbirth, you’re probably haunted by the voice of your midwife telling you to do those pelvic floor exercises. Whilst these can definitely help some women, they do need to be done properly so advice from a specialist physiotherapist is important. Without that help, many women find it difficult to perform pelvic floor exercises correctly. 

But even when performed correctly they are not always a cure-all, as they have generally low adherence due to their reliance on habit formation.

Myth #3: Prescription medicines are the only effective thing

There are a few prescription medication options available that can help urinary incontinence, but they may not always be the right choice for you. It’s always best to speak through the various options with your GP and also consider options beyond medication.

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Prescription medicines like Duloxetine and Oxybutynin act on acetylcholine pathways that may cause side effects like nausea, constipation and dry mouth. Taking these solves only the problem and provides a short-term fix. You might instead want to consider a supplement instead, like Jude, which uses pumpkin seeds and soy phytoestrogen to target the root cause of your bladder problems. 

Myth #4: Avoid heavy lifting and exercise

Any exercise can trigger bladder leakage for many sufferers. In fact, some women leak when brisk walking and doing moderate exercise. However certain high-impact exercises are more likely to cause leakage, such as jogging and aerobics, which involve a lot of jumping up and down, putting pressure on your pelvic floor. Sit ups are also a common cause of leaking.

With that said, bladder leakage shouldn’t prevent you from exercising as that would be a concern for all your health markers. 

A natural bladder care supplement

If you’re a fan of Dragon’s Den, you’ve likely seen the latest offering that aims to help women to take care of their bladder. 

Loved by over 40,000 women, Jude’s supplement has been clinically proven to strengthen pelvic muscles and reduce leaks by 66%. Working with a team of doctors and gynaecologists, Jude aims to refresh an outdated ‘management-’ led industry when it comes to bladder problems and their supplements aim to tackle underlying issues - instead of just sticking a pad on the problem. 

Ingredients like soy germ help to rebalance hormones that promote anabolic effects to rebuild strength in your pelvic floor. This works alongside pumpkin seed, which when converted into nitric oxide (a muscle relaxant), reduces contractors of the detrusor muscle in your bladder. By combining these two key ingredients, Jude supplements help increase testosterone levels in the body. They do this by blocking the process that normally converts testosterone into another substance called dihydrotestosterone. Having more testosterone can then help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.

You might start to notice less urgency and fewer night time toilet visits in week 8-12. Beyond 12 weeks, you might start to regain more control in your pelvic floor. Everybody is different, so it could take more or less time. In fact - 86% of participants in a clinical trial saw a difference after 12 weeks.

No more midnight bathroom visits and a full night's sleep? Sign us up. And don’t miss the chance to save 20% off your first purchase of Jude supplements. Simply use JUDE20 when purchasing your capsules from Jude directly. 

About the author

Rebecca Roberts is a writer, editor, and content marketing expert hailing from Leeds. Here at Mumsnet, she brings parents content designed to make life easier. When it comes to self-care, she knows all too well how difficult it can be to give your body the nourishment it needs when you’re busy juggling life as a parent. So, she’s fully invested in helping you find the best products that have the best results for you and your health.

Beyond her role as an editor here at Mumsnet, Rebecca can be found balancing life as a working mum of two toddlers and when she’s not at her desk, you’ll likely find her at a local playgroup, in a nearby coffee shop, or walking the dog.

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