Two thirds of Irish women experience bladder leaks but we don’t talk about it

You're not alone.

Regularly needing to go to the toilet is a pretty common struggle during pregnancy, but once you've had the baby you kind of hope that it will stop. That's not always the case, as I've discovered myself. I won't lie, I do sort of panic if I can't tell where the toilet is in a building or if I think I'll be travelling in the car for more than an hour. To be honest even an hour might be pushing it if I've had anything to drink during the journey. Another common problem for mums is bladder leaks with more than half of all Irish women experiencing them. Research conducted by Always Discreet found that 52 per cent of women in Ireland aged 18 and 34 have experienced leaks. A lot of these leaks are down to a lack of awareness about strengthening our pelvic floor through exercise. Around 85 per cent of women do know that exercising their pelvic floor muscles can help prevent or improve leaks, but just over a third (37 per cent) say they still don't do them which could be cause of such a high percentage of women experiencing leaks. Another 77 per cent of people feel that having a strong core means they will not suffer from bladder leaks but in some cases high intensity workouts can contribute to leaks. Dr Anita Mitra, Gynaecologist and Author of ‘The Gynae Geek’ to encourage women to get talking about this issue and more than that, start tackling the problem;

"Bladder leaks are common in women of all ages, it doesn't mean they should accept it as normal, and many do not realise that there are often simple things that can be done to help their situation. Talking to a GP or nurse is the first step, even if just to put your mind at ease. They will be able to talk you through a treatment plan which doesn't necessarily mean medication or surgery, and many can improve their symptoms with regular pelvic floor exercises alone."

Even though a lot of us come up against this problem most of us never discuss it not even with friends which can be quite isolating. Bladder problems are nothing to be ashamed of and personally I'm glad to see it being put more to the forefront along with similar conditions affecting women.