Postpartum urinary incontinence significantly increases the incidence of depression when one laughs.
For women, the most important identity change in life is undoubtedly to become a mother, the arrival of a new life is always a source of great anticipation, but also means the beginning of a happier family. Meng Meng is 29 years old and her daughter is almost 6 months old. Before giving birth to her daughter, Meng Meng had a colorful life and liked to party with friends, go shopping and travel, but after the birth of her child, she often refused her friends’ invitations. At first, friends think she can not leave the child, plus with the child is really hard so do not force, but more times, even her girlfriends are joking with her: “The child is not your whole life, how you are almost isolated from the world.” Mengmeng, under the repeated “complaints” of her best friend, finally could not help but tell her the real secret: “After giving birth to a child has been the case of urine leakage, I dare not laugh, cough. I thought it was normal after having a baby, but it’s been six months and it hasn’t subsided, and now even walking is starting to leak, and I have to wear diapers all day and night, so I’m worried sick ……”
Maternal urinary incontinence is mainly due to the weakened carrying capacity of maternal pelvic floor muscles
Regarding the problem that plagues Mengmeng, Professor Huang Hai of the Department of Urology at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University explained, “In reality, there are many women in pregnancy and childbirth who face the same problem of late pregnancy urine leakage and postpartum urine leakage.” He further explained: this situation is mainly due to the uterus collecting pressure, especially in late pregnancy, as the fetus grows, the volume of the uterus will become bigger and bigger, and the pressure on the bladder will become bigger and bigger, reducing the amount of urine the bladder can hold afterwards, and the urine accumulated in the bladder will become less and less, and at the same time, the pressure on the pelvic floor leads to abnormal pelvic floor function and changes in the structure of the urethra, so if women in late pregnancy and postpartum recovery experience coughing, sneezing If a woman coughs, sneezes or laughs, the pressure in the abdomen increases, the pressure in the bladder increases but the urethral pressure does not increase at the same time, urine will be pushed out of the bladder, resulting in leakage and “stress incontinence”, mainly because the maternal pelvic floor muscle bearing capacity is weakened.
The pelvic floor muscle is a muscle at the bottom of the pelvis that acts as a spring bed to support the bladder, uterus and rectum organs. It has important physiological functions, such as maintaining normal urination, defecation, and for women, vaginal contraction. If the pelvic floor muscle is underdeveloped, lack of exercise or traction during childbirth causes “changes” in the pelvic floor muscle, it will weaken the carrying, restraint, contraction and relaxation of the pelvic organs, resulting in what is known as “urinary leakage” or urinary incontinence. Although urinary incontinence is not as life-threatening as malignant tumors, its impact on health and quality of life should not be underestimated.
Conservative treatment is preferred for mild urinary leakage
The manifestations of different degrees of stress urinary incontinence vary. During pregnancy and delivery, pregnant women can actively seek help from the obstetrics department, while “postpartum urinary leakage” requires early consultation at a specialized urology clinic. Do Kegel exercises (Kegel exercises are exercises for pelvic floor muscles, lifting the anal muscles and contracting the anus, which refers to the patient’s conscious voluntary contraction of the pelvic floor muscles in order to strengthen the ability to control urination. (With this exercise 30% to 60% of patients have varying degrees of improvement, and lighter patients can be cured). Do it three times a day, twenty times a day, for more than two seconds each time, for as long as possible, and keep doing it for three months to see if the symptoms improve. “However, if the leakage is severe, or if conservative treatment does not work, then further clinical evaluation is needed and minimally invasive surgical treatment – a transvaginal mid-urethral tension-free suspension – may be required for radical treatment. This is a small, minimally invasive procedure and the prognosis is very good for a business-as-usual recovery without particular concern.” He added emphatically.
Caring for postpartum mothers and staying away from “urinary leakage”
Recent studies have shown that postpartum incontinence significantly increases the risk of postpartum depression, with data showing that women with postpartum incontinence are two times more likely to suffer from postpartum depression than postpartum women. The symptoms of postpartum incontinence are common and although embarrassing, it is critical to seek medical help in a timely manner. Finally, Professor Huang Hai appeals to the public: we hope that everyone will care more about pregnant women and new mothers at home, so that any problems can be detected and intervened as soon as possible.
