How to recover from urinary incontinence after natural childbirth

Written by Zhang Lu
Obstetrics
Updated on January 26, 2025
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Vaginal delivery refers to childbirth through the vagina, and while it has many benefits, it also has certain drawbacks. The biggest disadvantage is that it can cause damage to a woman's pelvic floor, leading to conditions such as uterine prolapse and bladder prolapse, which manifest as urinary leakage or incontinence. If urinary incontinence occurs after vaginal delivery, it can be addressed through the following methods: First, one can perform Kegel exercises at home. Kegel exercises are a set of movements that contract the muscles of the pelvic floor, which can help alleviate urinary incontinence, though the effect may be weak. Second, for patients with significant urinary leakage or incontinence, it is recommended to seek hospital treatment with machine-assisted therapy, primarily using electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor muscles to promote contraction and improve symptoms of incontinence. Third, if the above methods are ineffective, an evaluation of pelvic floor function should be conducted, and if necessary, pelvic floor repair surgery should be performed.

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Written by Wang Shuai
Urology
1min 1sec home-news-image

Is urinary incontinence related to anything?

There are many causes of urinary incontinence. For example, the most common type, stress urinary incontinence, is related to the relaxation of the pelvic floor muscles and the bladder's detrusor muscle. Conditions like pelvic organ prolapse, as well as factors like being a mature mother or excessive obesity, can lead to stress urinary incontinence. Urgency urinary incontinence is often caused by severe bladder inflammation or associated with certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes or bladder neck sclerosis. Overflow incontinence, most commonly seen in elderly males, typically results from prostate enlargement that blocks the urethra, leading to urinary retention and consequently overflow incontinence. Therefore, to understand the specific causes of urinary incontinence, it is crucial first to differentiate the types of incontinence and combine this with the patient’s specific situation and related examinations for a clear diagnosis.

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Written by Du Rui Xia
Obstetrics
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Can postpartum urinary incontinence be recovered?

Most cases of urinary incontinence postpartum in women are treatable. To manage postpartum urinary incontinence, it is essential to develop good urination habits. Patients with postpartum urinary incontinence should urinate every two to three hours. This practice can help train the bladder control muscles and enhance the new mother’s awareness of urination. Each time you urinate, try to empty the bladder completely to train the pelvic floor muscles. Regularly performing exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles can increase their contraction and control abilities, alleviating cases of urinary incontinence. Most conditions can improve; however, more severe cases may require further treatment.

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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 Zhao Su Min
Obstetrics
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Is it normal to have urinary incontinence with morning sickness during pregnancy?

Morning sickness and urinary incontinence are considered normal phenomena. If severe nausea and vomiting occur after pregnancy, it could increase abdominal pressure, leading to stress urinary incontinence. This condition is thought to be caused by the relaxation of pelvic floor muscles. It is crucial to actively engage in pelvic floor rehabilitation after childbirth to aid the recovery of the pelvic floor, to prevent symptoms like urinary incontinence and leakage when coughing postpartum. The best period for pelvic floor recovery is between 42 days to six months after childbirth. Engaging in pelvic floor rehabilitation during this period is beneficial for recovery. The longer the delay, the slower and more challenging the recovery will be.

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Written by Wang Shuai
Urology
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Urinary incontinence pelvic floor muscle exercise method

If you want to improve urinary incontinence through pelvic floor muscle exercises, this method is mainly suitable for mild stress urinary incontinence and is not applicable to all types of urinary incontinence. Therefore, if you want to improve urinary incontinence through pelvic floor muscle exercises, you first need to determine if it is mild stress urinary incontinence before proceeding. Usually, we choose to do anal lift exercises to improve this. The specific exercise method for anal lift exercises is to take a deep breath, lift the anus, hold for about five seconds, then relax, and continuously practice 15 times. Perform 15 times per set, about 20 sets a day, and it needs to be maintained for more than half a year to be effective.