To find it hard to believe that there are a lot of women out there who aren't what you'd term "old" who have to wear Tenna Lady panty liners?

[Perriwinkle]

I've just seen an advert for Tenna Lady Panty Liners. The woman featured in the add is a very glam woman, who looks to be in her early 30s, who keeps saying "oops", which I assume is a little euphemism for involuntary incontenence.

Am I just being naive about the extent of this problem among women under the age of 80, or is it just because they don't want to feature an 80+ year old woman in their advert?

Well pelvic floors definitely take a battering from pregnancy alone, so having a CS wont guarantee a tena free life.

I assumed that most women experienced it to some degree after natural childbirth. That's mainly from reading MN though, I've never chatted to anyone about it in RL.

It does surprise me that some women suffer with it after a c-section though, I've not had it after my 2 sections.

How does it happen after a c-section? I've always done pelvic floor exercises even before pregnancy, is that why I've got away with it?

Oops, x-post. Exactly, OP.

I needed them after a forceps birth and canulisation. I had literally no control and no warning. Am better now.

ds1 - posterior - no stitches but a hard labour and had to get him out quite fast at the end which I did with obstetrician giving me two more pushes with the forceps held up. It caused a prolapsed bladder. Had a repair after dd and have had courses of physio. Need to keep it in reasonable shape for as long as I can because I'm only 51 and have been advised that after the third repair the scar tissue is such that repairs become increasingly difficult. The first one has lasted so far for 11 years and I need to get another four or five years out of it. That will take me to 56. Another 15 years 71, then hopefully 86 - but after that I will old and in a mess. I was probably lucky that I had my first child at 35.

Its a secret that no one talks about, had 2nd degree tear with first birth 2 years ago and 3rd degree 10 days ago with 2 nd baby and am terrified that I'm going to end up smelling of piss for the rest of my days

I had to get some when I had the virus/cough from hell earlier in the year. it went when I stopped coughing fortunately. I feel sorry for anyone young or old who has to put up with it permanently, it must be awful.

pregnancy puts a lot of stress on your lower regions :)

(everything below the neck in some cases and often things above it!)

I have had three births and no incontinence after the immediate post natal period. this doesn't mean it won't crop up in later life though.. ..

every pregnancy and the urgency at the end of the pregnancy is worse.

I wore tena pads at 23. I was mortified by it and I needn't have been. From this thread there are lots of ladies who are suffering bladder problems post childbirth.
I had a vaginal birth and suffered no incontinence and only after my csection did the problems arise. So a csection is no guarantee against incontinence.

I've Googled still further and found that there is a higher incidence of urinary incontinence both during pregnancy and following delivery (either by C-section or vaginally in women with higher pre pregnancy body weights or body mass indices. Excess weight places extra pressure on the pelvic floor at the best of times (either when pregnant or not) and therefore increases the risk of urinary incontinence. So there you go.

I'm certainly informing myself tonight!

and repeats......

I must be 80 too

Actually I exercise a lot. I do Pilates, at least an hour twice a week holding that pelvic floor at the fifth floor, but I still have to have a try before practicing a somersault on the trampolining. And one a year I have a cough that's so bad I have to wear tena. So whilst it helps - it's still there.

I have decided to embrace my body which can't decide its age. 17 year old head, wrinkles of a 30 year old, hair of a fifty year old and pelvic floor of an eighty year old. Go me!

Nooo! Kegels give me motion sickness, I have no idea why.

GetDown I suffered morning sickness all through my third pregnancy and I know the puking/pissing so well.

:o I wear normal panty liners for those little cough/sneeze moments :o

It isn't just childbirth that messes with the pelvic floor, 9 months of pregnancy doesn't help. I agree with NowthenWreck these adverts do just normalise it when in fact there is help out there. PHysiotherapy would be the first port of call as most stress incontinence can be helped with pelvic floor exercises (providing you have been taught correctly!). I have had 3 children and no one told me how to do them correctly it was almost assumed knowledge.

Childbirth-related problems here too.

Is everyone sat here reading this thread doing their pelvic exercises?

I had to use them when pregnant with dd2 and had a really nasty deep cough.

I'm in my 50s and have to use them all the time because I suffer from chronic cough. This means that I have huge coughing attacks most days, so bad that I am usually sick or even pass out. I'm terrified of losing control. Also I can't laugh, dance, run, cry without coughing. :(

clench

I wonder how many people started doing their pelvic floor exercises whilst reading this thread

I did.

A hugely overlooked problem is incontinence in adolescents, at least a twenty-five year old can say she's had a baby, how does a fifteen year old explain it? "A friend of mine" used to say her mum bought the wrong sanitary towels to explain away the tena in her bag

God, I did the puke and piss in my first pregnancy. Nothing makes you feel quite so fucking glowy as throwing up in the sink and simultaneously pissing on your own feet.

Got good control back now but in hayfever season I definitely have to cross my legs on the third consecutive sneeze.