Imagine you are ready to return to exercise after having your baby. You do your first yoga session, jog, or jump rope and notice maybe this isn’t going the way you think it should…because you are feeling drops of urine come out when you move! You’ve heard people say it happens to them, too. But it also drains some of your confidence in your body’s ability to return to normal function. So, is that it? Are you now just one of the many moms putting up with urinary leakage in their day to day activities? I am here to say ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Urinary leakage after giving birth is common (1 in 3 women may experience leaking at some point!) but that does not mean it’s normal!! You may have heard of the phrase “common but not normal” before but what does that mean? Simply put, it means it happens to enough women that we accept this as “the way it is”. But the GOOD news is that urinary leakage after giving birth DOES NOT have to be “the way it is”!

One of the most successful tools in treating this annoying issue is pelvic physical therapy! Pelvic physical therapists, like myself and my colleagues at Nesin Pelvic Health, are there to help your body return to how it functioned prior to being pregnant, and this includes your bladder health! We are well educated in treating multiple types of urinary leakage. And therapy can be successful regardless of how long it’s been since you’ve had your baby!

So please, please, do not feel you have to join society’s acceptance of urinary leakage as “just how it goes” after you have a baby! You are incredible, and so is your body, and it CAN go back to leak-free activities!

Authored by Dr. Lisa English, PT, DPT, WCS, Nesin Pelvic Health Clinic Director