STOP NORMALIZING URINARY LEAKAGE!
“That happens to a lot of women”
“My mom just always wore a pad”
“It’s part of getting older”
Urinary leakage (even just a few drops here and there) is a common occurrence…but it is NOT NORMAL. When providers and the general public continue to normalize leakage with comments like the ones above, we are making women feel helpless and possibly even destined to a lifetime of embarrassment about their leakage. The truth is, there is HOPE. Women should be EMPOWERED to know that they can have control of their bladder.
Friends don’t let friends normalize urinary leakage. The next time the topic comes up with friends - share this blog, share our website, or even just let your friend know that they should look into pelvic floor physical therapy!
Moms should talk openly with their daughters about pelvic floor physical therapy and the importance of seeing one when something isn’t working quite right. Open up and have conversations about how common urinary leakage is for women, especially after having babies. Those conversations should not make it seem like it will be their “new normal” after having babies, but rather that there are pelvic floor physical therapists who specialize in helping women who are experiencing problems with leaking with a cough or sneeze, or leaking on the way to the bathroom, or leaking when they exercise!
Urinary leakage doesn’t just happen after having babies either. Some statistics say that up to 1 in 4 teenage girls (or more!) in athletics experience urinary leakage during participation in their sport, and most are too embarrassed to say something to their medical providers, coaches, or parents. Opening these conversations early may help younger girls to learn that it is a common issue that HAS SOLUTIONS!
Instead of normalizing leakage by saying it just happens, try normalizing the conversation about pelvic floor physical therapy as a SOLUTION to help women gain back confidence in their bladder control. Help women to feel empowered to overcome this common occurrence!
Written by: Renee Hancock, Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist
