Pregnancy incontinence happens to everybody, and nobody talks about it.
I'm pregnant with kid number two and have developed a nasty cold, I cough and sneeze. And inevitably some well-meaning nosybody will say, "You have to let it out when you cough or sneeze." Yeah, that's great advice, but when I let it out, it comes out of almost every orifice. I can't let it out without sitting down on the toilet first. Ahh the joys of pregnancy incontinence.
My first experience with pregnancy incontinence was with kid number one. I caught a horrible stomach bug with violent retching. Imagine my surprise when I peed in my pants while vomiting. Yeah, it was gross. It was humiliating. And I did it in a public bathroom. Really humiliating. I wasn't even pregnant enough to get sympathy looks from other pregnant women.
You can reduce the likelihood of pregnancy incontinence. There are things one should do during pregnancy to build up your pelvic floor, as I've posted here. And the benefits of doing them are that they stop the so-called "sciatica" problem, and keep your muscles in shape for labor as well as lower your likelihood of pregnancy incontinence. But I'll tell you that if your body needs to use that diaphragm to shove something out of your airways, you'll probably end up shoving it out your urethra as well.
As I've told these stories to mommy friends of mine, they've ALL sympathized. No one's going to bring it up, bu you haven't seen a pregnant woman walk down the street who hasn't had some pregnancy incontinence.
My advice:
Relax, it will get better as you get stronger and healthier.
Use sanitary napkins.
Practice your pelvic floor exercises.
Count the pregnant women on the street and calculate the women all hiding the same pregnancy incontinence secret.
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