Why do I urinate frequently after drinking water during pregnancy?

During pregnancy, expectant mothers often want to go to the toilet. They will want to urinate after drinking water, and the frequency of urination increases significantly. They are often accompanied by symptoms such as urgency and pain when urinating. How should expectant mothers deal with these problems? Could it be pathological frequent urination? Let me tell you what’s going on.

Urinary frequency refers to increased frequency of urination. A normal adult urinates an average of 4 to 6 times a day during the day and 0 to 2 times at night after going to bed. If the frequency of urination increases significantly and exceeds the above range, it is called frequent urination.

Frequent urination has a cause

Frequent urination is the most common symptom and problem for expectant mothers. This is mainly because the gradually enlarging uterus and fetal head squeeze the bladder, making the expectant mother feel the urge to urinate, which then develops into frequent urination.

The bladder is located in front of the uterus. During the third month of pregnancy, the uterus enlarges and protrudes from the pelvic cavity. The enlarged uterus can be touched above the pubic symphysis. At this time, the enlarged uterus can stimulate the bladder in front and cause symptoms of frequent urination.

In the middle stage, the uterus slowly enlarges in the abdominal cavity, and the symptoms of bladder irritation are alleviated. After 28 weeks of pregnancy, irregular uterine contractions (uterine hardening) may occur normally, but there are usually no symptoms; once uterine contractions stimulate the bladder, symptoms of frequent urination may occur. If the pregnancy is not full-term and uterine contractions are frequent, you should seek medical attention promptly to prevent premature birth.

Entering the late stage of pregnancy, around 38 weeks, the fetal head descends into the pelvis, which can compress the bladder and cause symptoms of frequent urination. During the day, expectant mothers stand or sit, and the enlarged uterus compresses the large blood vessels in the abdominal cavity, causing obstruction of venous return in the lower limbs, reduced renal blood flow, and reduced daytime urine volume.

In addition, frequent urination may also be due to the following causes, such as: inflammatory stimulation. When there is inflammation in the bladder, the nerve perception threshold is lowered, and the urination center is in an excited state, resulting in frequent urination without inflammatory stimulation; urinary stones and foreign bodies usually present with frequent urination as the main manifestation.

Two tips to prevent frequent urination

1. Expectant mothers should drink enough water, but not too much;

2. If the expectant mother feels the urge to urinate, she must go to the toilet and try not to hold her urine to avoid bladder infection and aggravate frequent urination.

If pregnant mothers want to alleviate such symptoms, they can control their water intake appropriately in daily life, and avoid drinking water one to two hours before going to bed at night; eat less diuretic foods; avoid lying on your back, and sleep on your side more at night, and do not hold urine if you feel the urge to urinate.