Sudden incontinence

[ToadandTadpole]

Hi everyone

I gave birth to DS 7 weeks ago. He is my first child and it was a difficult labour requiring a cut and ventose delivery.

I have this week developed total urine incontinence. I have a very sudden urge to go and have no control at all, I soak my clothes and end up freezing in panic until my bladder is empty.

I am going to call GP Thursday morning and try and get a same day appointment but wondered if anyone here has any advice. I've been doing the kegal exercises but don't think I have much feeling down there and not sure if the exercises are doing anything.

This is causing me a great deal of anxiety and panic.

I have some urinary incontinence and have been referred to a pelvic floor physio. I have no idea what that involves Expecting tiny dumbells or something?!

Try not to panic. Urinary incontinence is really common postpartum. There are ways to fix it.

Meant to say, I also had ventouse and episiotomy. And my incontinence has improved.

Thank you for replying. I've just started my first period post pregnancy so wondering if that's contributed to it as feel period has made me swollen down there. Sorry for TMI!!!
Am just confused as to why the incontinence would have only just started when baby came 6/7 weeks ago.

It does seem odd that it’s just started like that, but it’s not necessarily more worrying that it did.

I found that mine got a lot worse if I drank tea or fizzy drinks. It’s quite surprising how much difference that makes IMO - I figured liquid is liquid, but tea is the worst for some reason!

Tea, coffee, alcohol juice and fizzy drinks are all like throwing acid on your bladder so will irritate and make symptoms worse.
When you sit to pee, can you stop the flow mid stream?
Do you have any symptoms of a UTI?

I also developed sudden incontenence, although not related to childbirth.

The pelvic health physios are great, they assess you physically by scanning your bladder, seeing how it empties and testing your pelvic muscles and then recommend treatment. In my case it was tablets, bladder training and pelvic floor exercises.

I also say stay away from fizzy drinks as they always make me lose control again. I've found really acidic food like pickled onions has the same effect.

When I sit to pee, I can hold it for literally a second but that's all.
It was a difficult delivery and I have only just healed from an infection from the stitches so it's only been maybe a week that I have been eating and drinking like normal so it may not have started straightaway as was dehydrated.
I don't feel like I have any other symptoms of UTI.

Pelvic floor physio is a great suggestion