Castle Personal Training
Castle Personal Training is a Corstorphine, Edinburgh based company who specialise in weightloss/toning and Pre and Post Natal exercise.
Is it normal to still pee yourself years after giving birth?
Hi guys,
Hope you’re well.
As you can imagine I see a lot of new moms, and older moms, who mention they’d like to get back into training but don’t know where to start. Obviously I always have a chat with them before we do anything and I have this little checklist of questions I go through.
One of them always gets a shy; “Well, ermmm…not really much…but sometimes, yes” kind of response and that’s the “Do you experience any leakage?”/”Do you find you pee yourself when you laugh,jump, sneeze etc.?” question.
It’s completely normal for ladies to have some leakage for a while after pregnancy. It’s also very common for ladies to pee themselves years after giving birth. But just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s right and can’t be fixed.
There is absolutely no need for most ladies to still wee themselves 6 months after giving birth.
Here are some do’s and don’t s for all of you still suffering from it;
Do your Kegel, Pelvic Floor, exercises. None of the moms who have completed my “New Mum package” still suffer from leakage. This is because we really focus on your breathing and Pelvic Floor/Core muscle contractions whilst you exercise.
Just some examples of what you should do from fitmommyfitfamily.com
Here’s a link to the Core breath that you simply HAVE TO start using post-natal.
All exercises you do post-natal should be done using that way of breathing. Even if you are not suffering from PNL (Post-Natal Leakage) it is simply a much better way to contract your muscles, giving you much better core activation and a flatter stomach. You also can not fix any Diastasis if you don’t learn how to contract your muscles properly. This is also the reason soo many mums who exercise all the time still look like they’re pregnant, their core muscles are just not contracting correctly. Anyways, I digress.
The reason I mention the Core breath, other than it being very important to do post-natal, is because you should avoid holding your breath during exercises. A lot of people, hold their breath during the movements. So, when squatting, you should exhale on the way up. the same goes for a press-up, don’t exhale after the effort but during it.
Now I obviously said to do your Kegel exercises but don’t hold it during an entire exercise. Your core and pelvic floor have to learn to respond to the demands placed on them. This is also why you shouldn’t do the Valsalva manoeuver during an exercise. Exhale and engage during the exhalation and relax afterwards. When you squat you should not be bracing your core or holding your breath, just exhale and squeeze on the way up. As an aside; I tell ALL my clients, male and female, that I don’t want them to use the Valsalva manoeuver. I am just not a big fan of it, full stop, though I get why weightlifters use it.
If you do your pelvic floor exercises regularly and focus on exhaling and contracting your core and pelvic floor then you’ll be fine. Your pelvic floor will learn what to do and, before you know it, you can laugh, sneeze and jump without peeing yourself.
Take care,
Peter
Castle Personal Training 
Hello. My name is Dana and I pee my pants. I’ve went through a misscarge, natural birth and a c-section. I’ve tried Kegel exercises and everything under the sun to try to help with my delema. I try to put myself on a little schedule to go pee but sometimes it just doesn’t work. I will full blown pee my pants and can’t stop. Thank goodness it’s been at home but I’m afraid if I’m out I will pee myself in the middle of target or something.. and sex…. that’s embarassing. I’ve done it during sex. Any suggestions. I really don’t want to have surgery. If there is anything else to try please let me know. Thanks a bunch. My bladder thanks you also.
Hi Dana,
Sorry to hear you’re struggling but you’re definitely not alone in this.
If you send me an email on peter@castlepersonaltraining.com then I could maybe get some more info from you (last time you gave birth etc) and give you some hints and tips but in the mean time this might help
Click to access Pelvic%20floor%20XS%20female.pdf