Urinary incontinence (UI), also known as 'leakage', is a health condition that becomes more common with age. About 40% of women may develop urinary incontinence for the first time during pregnancy. UI is defined as the involuntary loss of urine and has several subtypes based on the physical actions or sensations that accompany the loss of urine.

A common subtype of UI is Urgent Urinary Incontinence, the involuntary loss of urine associated with urgency or the sudden need to urinate that is difficult to retain. This type of user interface is less common and affects around 7-18% of women during pregnancy, but if you experience it, it's important to recognize this symptom and talk to your healthcare provider. This is especially important if symptoms occur suddenly or are accompanied by vaginal irritation or increased vaginal discharge, as it may be associated with a vaginal or urinary tract infection.

Stress Urinary Incontinence is the loss of urine that occurs during physical exertion or activity, including sneezing or coughing, and is the most common type of UI. This type of UI is common during pregnancy because increased uterine weight and size puts more downward pressure on the bladder. This is remedied by maintaining healthy weight gain and following a program of pelvic floor muscle exercises (Kegel) during pregnancy.

Tips

Pelvic floor muscle exercises, often called Kegels or Kegel exercises, are universally recommended during pregnancy to help improve the function of the pelvic floor muscles. These exercises are also useful as a treatment for urinary incontinence symptoms during pregnancy.

There are many reasons not to smoke during pregnancy, but one of them is to reduce the risk of incontinence. Smoking has been associated with stress incontinence (urine leakage with coughing or sneezing), urgency incontinence, and urinary incontinence during sex. Smoking causes urinary incontinence by irritating the bladder and can also make urine leak worse, as it causes chronic coughing.