Why does a pregnant woman have urinary incontinence?

Pregnancy is supposed to be a happy thing, but sometimes there will be embarrassing scenes. Some pregnant women will have urinary incontinence when they cough. Many people worry that this is a disease that will affect the growth and development of the fetus. In fact, as the pregnancy period increases, the fetus is also growing slowly in the mother's body. When it grows to a certain size, it will squeeze other organs in the abdomen, so it will cause urinary incontinence. Don't worry too much.

What is urinary incontinence in pregnant women?

1. Special phenomena during pregnancy

In the early stages of pregnancy, when the uterus in the pelvic cavity begins to grow larger, it will gradually compress other surrounding organs, and the bladder in front of the uterus will be compressed, and the space for storing urine will become smaller, then frequent urination will begin to occur; after 12 weeks, the uterus gradually leaves the pelvic cavity and enters the abdominal cavity, and the crisis of bladder compression is relieved. However, as the fetus grows, increases in weight, and the uterus becomes larger and larger, the nerves, muscles, and bones in the abdominal cavity and around the uterus will be compressed, and the phenomenon of frequent urination will begin to worsen; at the same time, the secretion of progesterone and relaxin increases during pregnancy, the pelvic floor muscles are relatively relaxed, and the support for the uterus becomes relatively smaller, which can easily cause ligament strain injuries.

Therefore, the most important cause of urinary incontinence during pregnancy is the relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles and the physical compression damage caused by the increase in the size of the uterus. In addition, the pelvic floor becomes lower and lower in the late pregnancy, and the transmission of abdominal pressure information cannot reach the urethra. The phenomenon of urine leakage becomes more and more serious as the number of weeks of pregnancy increases.

Generally, 3 out of 10 pregnant women will experience urinary incontinence at 12 weeks of pregnancy, and the proportion increases as the pregnancy weeks increase. The postpartum period ends 42 days after delivery, and about 7% of primiparas continue to have symptoms of urinary incontinence, while the rate for multiparas increases to 10%.

2. Caused by disease

If you experience frequent urination or urine leakage during pregnancy, you need to rule out temporary illnesses first, such as urinary tract infections such as urethritis and bacteriuria. Usually, urinary tract infections cause a burning sensation when urinating, but pregnancy manifests itself in the form of frequent urination and urine leakage. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between physiological and pathological damage. If you are not sure, you should consult a doctor in time.

Doctors also say that childbirth injuries, prolonged labor, premature delivery and other conditions can also increase damage to the pelvic floor muscles or nerves. A variety of factors such as housework, lifting heavy objects, obesity, chronic cough, constipation, medical diseases, plus aging and menopause, lead to urinary incontinence in women aged 40 to 60.