Does a catheter cause emptying issues later?

[JillBob]

Hi All,

I had a difficult labour with my second child where for hours it wasn’t discovered that my baby was back to back pretty much until a consultant was called and my son was pulled out of me (sorry for the description but that’s basically what happened).
For a fair few hours I had midwives trying to decide why I wasn’t progressing at which point one of the ideas was to give me a catheter as it was thought maybe my bladder was too full (I told them I hadn’t had a drink since 8pm the day before and we were around 11am the following day - I was not on board with having one, I was capable of going to the loo if they needed me too). Anyway, it was done - low and behold, no wee...
Cut to 4 years later and my bladder is in bits. At first I thought well I’ve had 2 kids so my pelvic floor won’t be what it was but I’be been having issues emptying my bladder properly since then. I go for a wee and then I can literally pee my pants 2mins later even though I feel like I’ve emptied. Is this just what you expect after two babies or a result of a catheter?
Thanks in advance

Probably not as a result of the catheter in this case.
You might have a bladder prolapse as a result of pelvic floor weakness.
You might find that pelvic floor exercises help and leaning backwards then forwards a few times on the loo can help to empty your bladder after you think you have finished.

As a nurse who works weekly in a catheter clinic I have never heard of a short term catheter causing issues like this. But all my patients are normally a lot older! I would definitely guess it's more due to having two children rather than a catheter.

If it bothers you a lot definitely go and see your GP, they can do tests to see what the problem is.

Forceps delivery can cause pelvic floor injury so you would benefit from a referral to an obstetric physio.

I had a similar labour and catheter (was needed in my case) and I don't have any issues like this. I know everyone is different but I would think it's more likely to be 2 babies rather than the catheter. I would definitely speak to my GP to see if there is anything they can do to help.

Thank you - it wasn’t so bad a couple of years ago but it’s starting to bother me more now and seems to be worse.
I’ll try the leaning backwards and forwards on the loo as a short term solution and contact my GP

I had problems after a traumatic birth and suffered with complete incontinence for weeks after.

One year on, i do my PF exercises but still regularly leak easily when i cough or bend down for example, and can 'go' after i think i emptied and can go from fine to really needing to go within minutes. In the early days, i had exactly the same as you and I contacted my GP. They advised PF exercises but if it hadnt improved, they could refer to a womans gynae physio.

Definitely don't suffer in silence but definitely be diligent with the PF routine too.

Ps, I had a catheter for 24 hours post birth and was recatheterised as i had no control.

Thanks @39suzy - do you follow any specific PF exercise regime? I’ve seen lots of different regimes/exercises etc so knowing what other people follow would be really helpful

No its not the catheter it's the traumatic birth. I had a catheter after the birth of my son and a few since then following major operations and being in ICU and my bladder is absolutely fine.
A baby being pulled from you in that manner, ventouse, episiotomies etc are what cause the damage.

I had a very traumatic birth indeed with lots of damage and the physio got me foinf pelvic floor exercises the very next day, she really saved my continence. Doing specific exercises everyday meant I had no lasting problems. This was 30 odd years ago and I'm still absolutely fine but I'm not sure if physios get involved on labour wards now? Did any of you see one?

I'd say more the birth... I've had two assisted deliveries the second caused many issues... As someone above I suffered incontinence for three weeks, was told I would be able to deliver any more and have ongoing occasional incontinence, issues with bladder and bowel weakness and am prone to 'dribble' if I excercise, bend too quickly, delay going to the toilet... Currently still awaiting due to Covid a scan to look at damage on both areas and see if surgery may help.. Don't suffer ask for help via gp

I had this - I don't think it was from the catheter I had, I think it's just my pelvic floor is shot to shit and I also have bad birth injuries which don't help. I was referred to a Physiotherapist which was helpful as she was able to teach me how to do pelvic floor exercises properly for maximum benefit and gave me a routine of exercises to follow. Unfortunately I was discharged when I fell pregnant again and told to ask for a referral back after birth but now the pandemic has hit so I haven't had the chance. The pelvic floor exercises have really helped that wetting yourself straight after going to the loo thing though. Also you can stand up for a minute then sit back down to kind of trigger it as a way of managing it.

@JillBob 10 long hard squeezes, then 10 short quick, build up to 30 around 3 times a day was recommended by my prenatal physio so just carried on with that.