To think normalising incontinence in young mums is wrong

[Mammajay]

I just saw an advert tag line with the young mum saying..a little bit of wee won't stop me being me '. This is from Silhouette and Always are running a similar campaign. For most people, leaking is not normal and there are lots of things which can be done to correct incontinence. There is no shame in leaking, of course, but especially for younger women, it should not be normalised

I haven't seen the ads but do they target younger women specifically as a demographic or do they use younger attractive looking women in the way denture glue adverts always feature younger attractive women with amazing natural teeth?

I hate it! I was young and wetting myself after having a baby so I saw a doc and they operated to fix it. It annoys me that Rena "normalised" this. Just go to your doc and get it fixed!

Tena not Rena!

I take a high dose of the anti depressant Venlafaxine which has affected the muscles in my eyes (I have to wear a prism in my glasses) and also my bladder.

I can't stop taking Venlafaxine as it's the only anti depressant that works for me & its saved my life.

But I was having bladder 'accidents' every evening.
Rather than wear Tena lady I went to my gp.
She put me straight on Oxybutynin which stopped the accidents.
I now take Solifenacin instead which works just as well.
I'm also trying to do kegel exercises.

Don't put up with bladder problems!!
As an HCA I see so many older women who are slightly or very incontinent but have not seen or been fobbed off by a gp.
It's a massive issue!!

Maybe women and girls should be given the full, stark facts of childbirth and related injuries before deciding how and if to have children. I've heard so many women say that they had no idea it would impact their lives like that.

I lived next door to an obs/gyn for years and his wife had c-sections because there was "no way" she was going to run those risks.

Women are supposed to just suck it up. Makes me so fucking angry.

@Nat6999

I had similar, my male GP did not take it seriously but the female one refered me to a pelvic health physio which made a big difference with pelvic floor exercises and bladder training.

I also take tablets to stop the bladder spasms which make a difference.

Insist on the referral.

There's a great TED talk on this.

All.anout how postnatal care is essentially pretty shit and how we just normalise things that aren't normal.

Incontinence is common but not normal. I felt like I was just handed a leaflet on some gentle PFM exercises and that was it. Get on with it.

I've since been to my GP and had a referral to physio as I actually have 2 mild prolapses. I've just soldiered on for two years with it because I was told so often "Oh it completely changes down there after birth, happens to everyone".

I'm guessing it's also cheaper on the NHS to "normalise" it rather than pushing for an op to fix bladder prolapses etc

When I gave birth in the 70s and 80s we had daily physio-led exercise classes in the postnatal ward. I still do those exercises and am sure they helped. It's awful to think healthcare has gone backwards like this.

I hate those adverts, bladder issues should not be normalised.

We should be normalising asking for help if you suffer from incontinence

Well, I agree, but even when someone is accessing help then they might need pads for the foreseeable.

Why do people complain about these ads, but not, say for adverts about ibuprofen gel to treat back pain, or other pain killers, or cold and flu relief, IBS relief, or senna tablets, or imodium?

All of these have underlying causes which need looking at and can in many cases be treated. But in the meantime, you might want a bit of relief from/help with the symptoms.

Give women the credit that they are capable of using pads AND going to their GPs about it. Especially younger women!

Yes! I posted about this on my SM recently! I’m a midwife and it drives me mad that women are told that peeing yourself is totally fine and normal and to just get on with it! I always tell my women when I discharge them from community care to keep asking for help if they have continence issues!

I think "normalised" is the wrong word. Bladder problems, to my mind, should be normalised, in that they are so common that everyone should be able to talk about them, and say things like "It's only a bit of pee", not "Arrgh, I peed when I coughed, it's too embarrassing, my life is over!"

Only a few years ago, like even 5-10 years ago, to my mind, I would never have talked about this to a friend. Yet more recently we have talked about our issues openly at running club, and how most of the women wear a pad when they go for a run "just in case".

What bladder problems (and anything that comes under "women's problems" generally) shouldn't be is ignored, untreated, taboo, just accepted, or dismissed as unimportant.

I think while the ads make me cringe a bit as they are cheesy, generally they have a positive effect as they make people talk about the issue more. As we are now.

I would certainly support normalising women asking for help from the continence service. That said, they can quite often help improve but not cure the problem. I cant see the need for panty liners disappearing.

Just taking one issue that can cause incontinence - I have endometriosis all over my bladder, but fortunately it doesn't cause many symptoms now. It has in the past. 10% of all women globally have endometriosis - though I think this figure is massively underestimated as many go undiagnosed. It's under control, but it's chronic and not treatable, unless I have all my reproductive organs removed, and then it might not completely clear up, and that brings with it a whole host of other issues I'd rather avoid.

This is only one example. The treatment is sometimes worse than living with and managing a chronic condition. It isn't just a case of doing a few Kegel exercises, there is nothing wrong with my pelvic floor, other than it being absolutely coated with womb lining gone astray.

I agree with you, MammaJ.

"Swimming helped me, and I also lost a lot of weight"

As did i. It didnt help the bladder problem.

I went out earlier i was gone for three hours. I had to go to the loo before i went. And 3 times while i was out. Drives me nuts.

And then there is the constant searching for a loo that isnt closed. Or one in a local department store that had turned all its lights off in its loos way before closing time. (this was the case on Tuesday as well as today so not by coincidence or an accident) Its bad enough struggling with this but the lack of decent facilities turn it into a three ring circus Fucking ridiculous.

I understand it is the norm for some women, but pelvic floor exercises for stress incontinence and training for urge incontinence can help. The ads imply it is just OK to accept it in a general way, just so they can sell more pads and liners.