Incontinence: Postpartum Isolation and other related things

Most of us are aware of the term incontinence. For those who do not know about it, incontinence is a medical condition in which the patient looses control over his/her bladder activities and may not control urination and fecal activities. There are many treatments, surgeries and products in use for incontinence. In this article, I am going to discuss the effect of postpartum isolation in incontinence.

A recent survey has shown that only a few of the total number of women who are suffering from incontinence are aware of it. Some women think that it is a natural process after childbirth while others ignore it just because they feel ashamed in telling people about their condition. They should know that incontinence is curable and proper treatments or surgeries can heal it.

Postpartum is a type of depression that leads to incontinence. Postpartum urinary leakage and even anal incontinence is very common and can often be co-mingled with twins. Women with multiple births are more likely to suffer from the postpartum depression than others, and that problem may further lead to incontinence, both urinary and anal. According to a survey, Urinary incontinence affects 30 to 50 percent of women by age 40 after childbirth. Up to 70 percent of women have partial issues of leaking during or after pregnancy and this can raise a lifetime risk of stress urinary incontinence in later years. Anal incontinence is also very common and affects up to 25 percent of childbearing women and is more likely to happen in women facing urinary leakage after childbirth. These symptoms not only affect a woman's sense of balance and normal life after childbirth, but also may affect her closeness with the partner, her sense of womanliness and even her self-worth.

What is the reason of all this? In pregnancy and childbirth, support muscles (pelvic and fecal muscles) become weak. Pelvic nerve damage usually occurs after a long vaginal delivery, supporting tissues are stretched and torn in the process, and the perineum can sustain injury in the case of an episiotomy.

We can avoid this situation and probability by following a proper procedure during pregnancy and delivery. These solutions include pelvic floor exercises that make your pelvic floor muscles ready for delivery, perineal massage, weight management and general fitness and tone. There are things that you can do after delivery to avoid the symptoms and issues. There are many products available to deal with the incontinence situation including incontinence pads, adult diapers, etc. These products are effective, and most of the incontinence patients use them to deal with their situation. It is good to continue with the Pelvic floor muscle exercises even after the delivery to help restoring the muscle function before it fails permanently.