Temporary bladder-control issues are fairly common in women after labor. The bladder is an organ that is shaped like a balloon. It relaxes when it has urine inside and tightens up when you go to the bathroom to squeeze out the urine. Your bladder-control muscles may become weak after childbirth and lead to uncontrolled leaking of urine.
Instructions
1. Exercise your pelvic-floor muscles three times a day. These muscles wrap underneath the uterus and the bladder, and may become weak after labor. Exercise will strengthen them, and can prevent bladder problems later in life.First, locate the pelvic-floor muscles by stopping in the middle of urinating when you go to the bathroom. Tense the muscles and hold for 20 seconds, then release. Repeat at least 10 times.You can also use vaginal weights to measure the strength of your pelvic-floor muscles and evaluate your recovery.
2. Avoid bladder-irritating foods such as chocolate, coffee, alcohol and citrus fruits.
3. If your symptoms last more than 6 to 8 weeks, consult a gynecologist, an urogynecologist or a urologist (who specializes in bladder-control issues and problems with the urinary tract). Losing bladder control is a serious issue, and may be a sign that something in your body is not working correctly.
4. Consider surgery if your bladder-control muscles are too weak and the symptoms persist for a long time. If you plan to have more children in the future, however, this option might not be the best for you.
5. Take anti-cholinergic or anti-muscarinic medication to help "retraining." your bladder. Know, however, that the medication may affect the quality of your breast milk if you breastfeeding. Consider waiting until your baby stops breastfeeding, or bottle-feeding him while you're on the medication.
Tags: pelvic-floor muscles, after labor, become weak, become weak after, bladder-control issues