Urine leakage during late pregnancy

Many pregnant women are prone to urinary incontinence in the late pregnancy, which is also called urinary incontinence. It is a common physical phenomenon for many pregnant or postpartum women. There are many reasons for urinary incontinence in the late pregnancy. This is because the pressure of the fetus on the abdominal cavity and bladder in the late pregnancy causes fatigue of the pelvic muscles, which can easily cause urinary incontinence. You can use a nursing pad to prevent urinary incontinence.

What causes urine leakage during late pregnancy?

During pregnancy, expectant mothers may find that they leak urine when coughing or laughing. This is medically known as "stress urinary incontinence". About 40% of expectant mothers will have this trouble, which is a very common phenomenon during pregnancy.

1. What causes urine leakage during pregnancy?

After pregnancy, the tissues and muscles of the expectant mother's pelvic floor stretch, causing the sphincter that controls bladder and urination to become weak. When the expectant mother laughs, coughs or sneezes, the pressure in the abdominal cavity and around the bladder increases, and this pressure will squeeze the expectant mother's bladder. Normally, the expectant mother's pelvic floor muscles help close the bladder floor to prevent urine from flowing out. But if this part of the muscle is very weak, the expectant mother may not be able to control urinary incontinence.

When there is urinary incontinence in the late pregnancy, only a small amount of urine will leak out. Unlike normal urination, all the urine will flow out. Expectant mothers can rest assured about this. Urinary incontinence may also occur after childbirth, which is caused by the relaxation of the pelvic muscles and ligaments after childbirth or poor repair of birth injuries, leading to defects in the pelvic floor muscle fascia.

2. What to do when you leak urine?

In order to avoid the embarrassing situation of urine leakage, it is recommended that expectant mothers carry some sanitary pads with them at all times. Especially in the summer when the clothes are thin, it is even more necessary to use sanitary pads as a remedy for urine leakage. The pad should have a soft, breathable cotton surface to reduce irritation to the sensitive vulva skin. At the same time, you should change your sanitary pads frequently, as the moist vaginal environment after urine leakage is prone to bacteria. Use panty liners only when you are prone to leaking urine; if you don't expect leaking urine, don't use them because panty liners are not as breathable as underwear.

3. Exercise the pelvic floor muscles to prevent urine leakage

Regular pelvic floor muscle exercises are most helpful in preventing urinary incontinence during pregnancy and after childbirth. If the expectant mother already has urinary incontinence, she should avoid running for 1-2 weeks and do more pelvic floor muscle exercises. In addition, doing more anal contraction exercises can also strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.

4. Is there any way to deal with urine leakage and frequent urination?

To solve the problems of urinary incontinence and frequent urination, you need to eat less diuretic foods and do more perineum contraction exercises. You cannot stop drinking water just to solve the problem of frequent urination. This will cause the body to be dehydrated, leading to more health problems, such as constipation and other troublesome problems.

1. Mothers should drink a moderate amount of water during the day, in small sips and frequently, not too much at one time, and try to drink less water at night.

2. Try not to hold your urine. Don’t hold it just because you are very sleepy at night and struggle to sleep a little longer instead of getting up; or don’t hold the urge to urinate because you are busy at work or feel embarrassed, etc. These situations are likely to cause urinary retention. If you go out, you can use sanitary napkins to relieve the embarrassment of urine leakage and frequent urination.

3. Eat less diuretic foods such as watermelon in summer.

4. Deliberately do perineal contraction exercises on a regular basis to enhance the elasticity and strength of the pelvic floor muscles, which can effectively control urination and reduce birth canal tears during delivery.

5. Pregnant mothers should relax, especially in the late pregnancy, when they are looking forward to delivery but afraid of pain. Some frequent urination is caused by psychological reasons. Worry and fear lead to insomnia, and when they can't sleep, they get up and urinate continuously; this will trap them in a vicious cycle.

5. Some frequent urination is a sign of disease

Urinary tract infection is very common in late pregnancy, which manifests as frequent urination. Frequent urination can occur if there is bladder inflammation, urinary stones or foreign objects in the urinary tract. If you have frequent urination accompanied by pain, urgency, cloudy urine, and other abnormal phenomena, you must seek medical attention immediately. Avoid ascending infection that may lead to pyelonephritis.