Why do lactating women experience urinary incontinence?

Written by Zhao Li Li
Obstetrics
Updated on December 07, 2024
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Under normal circumstances, postpartum women might experience mild urinary incontinence due to incomplete recovery of pelvic floor muscle function, which is within the normal physiological range. If urinary incontinence persists throughout the entire breastfeeding period, it is considered that there may be an abnormal illness.

Due to the stimulating effect on the pelvic muscles during childbirth, it is easy for the pelvic floor muscles to become relaxed. If not properly repaired after childbirth, this can lead to urinary incontinence. Persistent urinary incontinence may affect normal life and work, requiring timely medical consultation and examination. If there are no other ways to improve, surgical repair treatment might be necessary.

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Written by Wang Shuai
Urology
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What are the symptoms of urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence mainly refers to the uncontrolled flow of urine from the urethral opening. There are several types of urinary incontinence, including stress incontinence, urge incontinence, overflow incontinence, tension incontinence, and neurogenic incontinence. Stress incontinence, commonly seen in women who have given birth, mainly refers to the leakage of urine from the urethral opening during actions that increase abdominal pressure, such as coughing, jumping rope, or sneezing. Urge incontinence is commonly seen in acute cases of bladder inflammation, where the inflammation stimulates the bladder, causing the patient to have a strong urge to urinate, thus losing control over urination, with urine flowing out from the urethral opening. Neurogenic incontinence is due to nerve damage, such as after spinal injury, leading to loss of bladder and urinary muscle function, causing urine to continuously flow out from the urethral opening.

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Written by Yang Dong
Colorectal Surgery Department
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How to recover from fecal incontinence?

For fecal incontinence, we must first conduct an effective evaluation and complete relevant examinations. For instance, we need to perform anal canal pressure measurements and examine the anal sphincter muscle imaging. Through these examinations, we can determine the extent of fecal incontinence and then adopt corresponding treatment methods. For fecal incontinence, we can initially choose conservative treatments, such as treatment with biofeedback therapy.

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Written by Wang Shuai
Urology
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Stress urinary incontinence clinical manifestations

The primary clinical manifestation of stress urinary incontinence is the leakage of urine from the urethra when sudden increases in intra-abdominal pressure occur, such as laughing, sneezing, or coughing. This condition is commonly seen in women who have given birth. It is mainly caused by the relaxation of the urethral sphincter and pelvic floor muscles after childbirth. The more childbirths a woman has, the higher the frequency of stress urinary incontinence. For mild symptoms, improvement can be achieved through pelvic floor muscle exercises. If necessary, medications such as Midodrine Hydrochloride tablets can be taken orally. For severe symptoms, surgery is recommended. (Medication should be used under the guidance of a doctor based on specific circumstances.)

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Written by Chen Yu Fei
Neurosurgery
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Does spinal bifida cause urinary incontinence during the day?

For patients with spina bifida, if it is occult spina bifida, they generally exhibit nocturnal enuresis, with rare instances of urinary incontinence during the day. For patients with manifest spina bifida, they may experience urinary incontinence during the day. Therefore, for patients with manifest spina bifida, it is usually recommended to perform surgical treatment at an early stage, with earlier surgery leading to better outcomes. It is generally advised for patients with manifest spina bifida to undergo surgery to effectively remove the locally protruding mass and to carefully clear the adherent nerve roots below, while monitoring changes in the patient's condition.

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Written by Zhou Yan
Geriatrics
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What causes urinary incontinence in the elderly?

Urinary incontinence in the elderly varies due to different mechanisms and types, with the two most common categories being genuine urinary incontinence, which is due to neurogenic bladder dysfunction or overactive detrusor muscles, damage to the urethral sphincter, or loss of bladder storage function. These are commonly seen in conditions like chronic stroke, dementia, Parkinson's disease, and psychiatric diseases. The other major category is caused by relaxation of the urethral sphincter or pelvic floor muscles surrounding the urethra, leading to reduced urethral pressure. Incontinence in this category may occur when negative pressure increases, such as during coughing, sneezing, straining during bowel movements, or changing body position. This type of urinary incontinence is more common in elderly women and in elderly men who have had prostate removal, leading to damage to the external urethral sphincter.