Have you suffered from postpartum incontinence or bladder weakness? Share your experiences with INNOVO - £200 voucher to be won

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Incontinence is a common problem for women after giving birth, but very few people talk about it and simply suffer in silence. Living with bladder weakness can feel overwhelming both physically and mentally, affecting everyday tasks. With this in mind, INNOVO would like you to share your own experiences of bladder weakness, to help destigmatise the issue and raise awareness of it, so that others know that they are not suffering alone.

Here’s what INNOVO has to say: “Often thought of as a temporary issue, activities once enjoyed are curtailed or abandoned, and leaks just managed with pads …daily…Forever. I’ve always viewed urinary leakage as an invisible ball and chain for a woman. I see women every single day in my practice and I would encourage you to seek help from your GP, a specialist physiotherapist, talk to the people in your inner circle - you’d be surprised how many people could be suffering too. Try pelvic floor exercises, aka Kegels, but if you struggle to get them right, or still experience leaks, INNOVO can help take the effort and complexity out and help you along the way” Dr Ruth Maher PT, PhD, DPT, MISCP & Co-Inventor of INNOVO.

Were you prepared for the possibility of postpartum incontinence or was it a total surprise? Did you speak to friends about it or seek professional help? Maybe you have tips for managing it, or you found a specific exercise really helped to speed up your recovery? If you’re suffering from bladder weakness currently, are you worried about adapting to normal life and managing leaks while you’re out and about now that lockdown restrictions are easing?

All who post on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Insight T&Cs apply

Ncndndjdj

It's the trampoline that's a no go area after giving birth.

I wish i could go back to when it was just a problem on the trampoline 😞

Well this isn't cheap -circa £100 but it looks good to me

eu.perifit.co/#:~:text=Perifit%20is%20a%20Kegel%20exerciser,properly%20strengthen%20the%20pelvic%20floor.

Immediately post partum wee just used to pour out when I stood up, but that did resolve in the first few weeks.

However, I have a prolapse and has nerve damage which caused pelvic numbness. I found time, pelvic floor physio with nhs specialist nurse, Pilates to work my pelvic floor in the context of my whole core, topical estrogen while breastfeeding and a well-fitting ring pessary really helped. Pre-lockdown apathy, I could run 20 hilly miles with dry knickers.

I had a brilliant midwife who talked me through pelvic floor exercises and it helped a lot that I worked with Physios. I was well warned so post partum leaks didn’t come as a surprise, their help resolved the issue for me.

I was somewhat prepared for urinary post-partum, though I don't recall any professionals discussing it with me but it was in the books. When it didn't happen I thought maybe I was doing the right things + got lucky.

It didn't show up until about a 18 months or so after my youngest was born. Suddenly I was leaking all the time. I bought those chair pads as I worried about leaving a mess on a chair, along with cloth pads that are advertised as working for stress incontinence as I found TENAs uncomfortable. I think I mentioned it in passing when at the GPs when discussing what was put under 'early menopause symptoms', but none of that was never really taken seriously (I literally got handwaved away with 'enjoy buying less pads' even though I had needed to buy the incontinence ones). I turned to online resources like Dr Sarah Duvall's online course, Katy Bowman's healthy pelvis resources, various youtube videos among others. I found a nurse practitioner helping with my reoccurring severe sinusitis and later another with nuritional deficiences (only took 5 years) alongside the pelvic health work that I finally got back under control.

I wasn't prepared for the bowel issues pp already mentioned. I had a few professionals shrug off my bad postpartum constipation as normal and just given Lactulose, but it was many years later reading an article like this discussing birth injuries which said "Another said she always pressed into her perineum when relieving herself." which is something I do that it might be a birth-related injury. I remember tearing up at the time that I finally might understand that part of myself that I'd long found difficult put had put down to other issues like not eating well enough - I had my first at 19 and I was well into my 30s when I read that article.

I think there was attitude with all my births from 19 to 26 that because I was young or on the younger side that I would 'bounce back' or - particularly with my first two (19 and 21) - that I just didn't know what I was talking about and didn't understand 'normal'.

Since the birth of my son, over 16 years ago, I've had problems. Been treated for urge incontinence, stress incontinence, hormone up the foof, pelvic floors to Olympian standards, a blocker thing which I can't remember the name of only to be told this week that I have a perfect pelvic floor so it must be something else and was referred to urogynaey clinic. In passing the pelvic physio mentioned stretched ligaments, which no amount of pelvic floor exercises will fix. I said I was hypermobile and she looked like the penny had just dropped and that was that! Why is that never mentioned before? I feel like I've been passed from pillar to post for the last 16 years without any medical professional reading my file and joining the dots. I'm well pissed off, if you pardon the pun. Yet another female thing to suffer without much ever going right for the many who do suffer.

I've had incontinence issues since my second birth when I was 26yo. Nobody really talked about pelvic organ prolapse being something that can happen. Mine is complicated by nerve damage from episiotomy making half my vaginal wall numb, doing pelvic floor exercises is harder because I only half feel what I'm doing.

Must be getting something right though as two urogynae doctors have been impressed by my muscle tone. I need surgery to correct the incontinence sadly.

It’s sad reading all these comments. This is yet another thing women seem to have to just put up with, along with endometriosis, menopause, the list goes on.

Why do we have to shout so loudly to be heard but are still not taken seriously????

It seems that the default position for women’s issues is thus:

Menopausal - HRT
Incontinence - Pelvic floor exercises

There does not seem to be a holistic approach to this and that it’s not always a quick fix. 16 fecking years and I’m still wetting myself.

My first born was by emergency caesarean and I don’t remember having any incontinence issues afterwards. My last was v birth with some tearing and physio for bone dislocation. Go figure. But just do the level exercises and you’ll be fine dear. Well I’m not and medics need to listen to their patients more. It would save a heck of a lot of time and resources.

After having my third baby, I remember taking the kids to school one day and having a feeling like my period had come on. I rushed home and found I had leaked so much urine on my pants. I try to do pelvic floor when I remember and feel that it makes a difference. Wearing jeggings, gym leggings ( anything tight around my stomach), jumping or going for a long walk makes my incontinence much worse. I wear panty liners and change at least 3 times a day. This is definitely thanks to the joy of childbirth.

I wear pads daily.

I jump up I dribble

I run I dribble

I sneeze I dribble

I cough I dribble

I've tried pelvic floor muscles and use the recommended NHS Squeezy app but it's made no difference.

I was fine after my first two pregnancies 14& 16 years ago and was given terrible advice that I didn't need to do pelvic floor exercises as I was so young. While pregnant with my 3rd I started dribbling in my sleep.

I've so far had no support with this but financially don't have the means to go private for care!

I had too large children and my experiences in hospital with staff were bad so no more and l have sneezed and had a leak but not often

6 years post partum. I have to wear light incontinence liners every day. Presumably it's the forceps delivery that did it??

I knew about it being common, people joking about weeing when you sneeze etc. I didnt know it would be a daily problem and go on for so long.

I've actually wet myself on a couple of occasions when I've been hysterically laughing. Luckily I was at home, but still embarrassing.

I've not seen a gp about it. Not sure why, I guess life is busy and you assume this is something that happens due to giving birth.

lifting heavy things, sneezing, exercising all causes leaks for sure, and finding going to the loo more than I ever did

I have occasionally struggled with leakage since having kids and always have liners with me in case I need them

I've got bladder problems and under the
The bladder clinic, what helped me tremendously ,what they actually done was fitted me an eclip and although I had it done ,I I don't wee a half as much.,and tablets called Betmiga.

@Debzyrobinson could you say more about the eclip ? Is it this eclipsesystem.com/about-eclipse/ ?

Yes, I still have incontinence since having children. I need to do those exercises!

This is still such a taboo subject. Not got every fair with trying to sort this and just wear pantyliners which is not ideal.

I suffered really badly after my son was born due to an episiotomy and third degree tear. It was both urine and feocal incontinence and just the most degrading thing to go through. That was when I was 25. I'm 31 now and have turned a corner with it all in the last 18 months or so, but it I am still very self conscious. If I were to have any more children I would be requesting an elective csection to avoid and further damage.

If you look on Google it will explain the
Procedure, to me it's like having a smear test,but it does hurt. I have to have it every 3 months.

I suffer from bladder weakness after having multiple brain surgery after finding out I had a brain tumour 2 years ago and having to have a cafitier bag fitting 3 times it’s weakened my bladder. I hate it I really do. Even worse having this and having three children 😳😳

After carrying 17lbs worth of twins plus two large placentas I unsurprisingly have stress incontinence. However the good news is that my GP HAS taken it seriously and referred me to a consultant at the hospital. The consultant referred me for a scan (to rule out prolapse or any other issues in my bladder), and I've also been referred to a superb gynae physiotherapist. She's explained I have three options, 1. to try and resolve it by retraining my muscles around my bladder and pelvic floor by doing exercises, 2. a 'filler' put inside my urethra to close it up a little and makes the muscles have to do less work to close it up, 3. invasive surgery. I've opted for the exercises and about three months later I've noticed a difference. I used to absolutely dread hay fever season with the constant sneezing and having to change my knickers several times a day. I now can hold urine in better. The physio was brilliant but is a work in progress!