post birth problem..advice please...

I had a normal vagina birth for my first in Feb and I had to have a catheter put in after I had an epi, MW forgot to tell me to go pee before hand! Anyway I have little leaks too and no amount of exercises down there seems to work but it is slowly getting better, I practice on the loo whilst peeing stopping and starting the flow if that makes sense?
It took 3 months after the birth to finally be able to stop the flow! I would be squeezing and squeezing trying to stop the flow but it wouldn't! Sorry probably not much help.

Talk to your mw about it? Being pregnant I imagine would make it a bit harder. What happens if you double up pads or move your pad further up?

Get referred to a women's health physio - there is be a free one at Middlemore. They can give you advice on exercises etc. Definitely talk to your MW - she may recommend a gynae referral. I notice my pelvic floor is getting weaker the further through the PG I am. I had no problems after Dan was born, but since about 4 months, have had the occasional leak, and never at a good time (not that there is such a thing).

Sounds pretty rough, poor thing. Sorry about the huge post and just ignore anything you already know.

Firstly I reckon be really sure that you're doing your exercises properly. A lot of people work really hard at them but they're actually using their abdominal muscles which actually makes things worse. Practicing the way Lil_Nic suggested is okay but ONLY to get the idea of the muscles you're trying to use. If you regularly practice this way you'll end up messing with proper bladder emptying and end up with lots of urinary tract infections. To check if you're doing it wrong (without writing an essay) put your hand on your stomach when you're doing them and if you can feel any muscles working you're using the wrong ones. You should be imagining that you're trying to "lift" up the area between your vagina and anus, then squeezing the round muscles of your vagina and anus. That's all. Don't work too hard or you're bound to "bear down" which WILL make it worse.

Secondly the other thing that will make it worse at this point is being constipated and having to strain to use your bowels. Keep your fibre and fluids up to avoid this. Try Kiwicrush (with the fruits in the freezer section at the supermarket).

Thirdly, despite what people think it's often not the vaginal delivery that damages your pelvic floor - it's the stresses that result from carrying the baby in combination with the relaxin so that everything is stretched. So I probably wouldn't fret that it was the delivery that caused this. But I suspect that you may have weakened your pelvic floor during these previous pregnancies and this one has just tipped them over the edge.

Unfortunately you're getting bigger and even without previous problems this baby might be squashing your bladder and stressing your pelvic floor. It's going to be really hard to get them working properly again before you deliver but worth a try.

I'd strongly suggest you speak to your GP or midwife and get a referral to a Women's Health Physiotherapist or a Continence Nurse. Definitely don't accept that incontinence after having kids is just the price you have to pay. It's not.

Hi - I know all about this one - I have actually just had an operation to correct it all!!! Two pregnancies and pushed two babies out, second one had complications after the birth but all ok. I noticed afterwards that i couldnt empty my bladder property and had leakage. Played tennis and netball and had to wear a pad and leakage not too bad. Then started a get fit lose weight programme and started running NOT good to the point where i couldnt run IYKWIM. So off to a gyno I went and had a procedure called a TVT which basically means they have put a piece of velcro round my Uretha to tighten it, i am only a week out of surgery so cant wait to go running and not weeing myself!!!!

Talk to your MW and let her know of your concerns but from my experience its part of pregnancy and childbirth but it is definately not something that you have to live with.

PM me if you want to know anything else

The pelvic floor muscle exercises are not as effective when you aren't pregnant but it sounds hugely embarrassing and frustrating and I'd raise it with the mw and see if there's anything she can do to help. It's possible that a physio may be of assistance to you, to learn some of those weird exercises.

All good, thanks for clearing it up though! Appreciate it!

Hi everyone, thank you so much for all your wonderful, friendly and supportive advice. I will definitely let my mw know and ask for a referral to the free specialist at Middlemore as I am in South Auckland. I am also keen to learn more about the surgical aspect of helping fix my incontinence. I suffer from a chronic cough which does not help my situation at all. Sometimes when I leak it runs down my leg no matter how far up/high I place the pad. I wear the proper incontinence ones but am worried that as my pregnancy progresses that I will have to upgrade to the underwear. The kegels make me feel better that I'm doing something positive and I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right but I think it may be anatomical. Either way, I will post again once I have results of some sort. Thanks again everyone and blessings ladies.