34-year-old teacher and blogger Katy, first experienced symptoms of urinary incontinence during her third pregnancy. Her son was a big baby at 10lbs, which meant more pressure on her pelvic floor. The symptoms temporarily subsided after the birth, but soon returned when she started her post baby fitness regime.
As a teacher, you often go the entire day without going to the loo as your are simply too busy. Thanks to this, I developed a pelvic floor of steel! My third pregnancy changed all that. At 10lbs, my son was a big baby which put a lot of strain on my pelvic floor and bladder, and when I undertook a new exercise programme after his birth, the urinary incontinence symptoms became more noticeable.
I was doing weekly fitness sessions which involved circuits and aerobics with a friend. They were high intensity classes full of jumping, skipping and lunging. This caused more strain and damage to an already weak pelvic floor. I was doing these classes with the constant fear ‘What if?’ in my mind. What if this next lunge ends in a leak? What if it’s this next squat?
I was living with these anxieties and constantly planning ahead to ensure I’d be able to access a toilet. Because once I had the urge to go, I knew I had to be quick as there’d be no hope of holding it in.
Mums love talking amongst friends about the trials and tribulations of birth and the issues that come with that. Incontinence after childbirth is a well-accepted fact of mum life, and while we can have the odd joke about it, no one really talks overtly about it as a problem.
“I personally found the problem to be a bit shameful, these accidents were something my toddlers did. I felt that as an adult, I should be able to control myself.“
I tried wearing incontinence pads for a while but felt shame buying them and wouldn’t undress in front of my husband at night. I never considered incontinence after childbirth to be a medical issue or something I would bother my GP with, just something I was having to deal with myself. I was of course aware of the internal devices that are available to treat incontinence, but they really put me off.
When I found out about INNOVO it felt like the perfect opportunity to try it for myself, and as a blogger, I could spread the message for other women too. The feedback from people who had read my posts was overwhelmingly positive and so I knew I had made the right decision in openly sharing my problem.
A treatment for incontinence after childbirth
The INNOVO shorts were so simple to use, and it still amazes me how effective they were! True to size and comfortable to put on, I ended up recommending them to so many of my friends who were experiencing the same problem.
After completing the full 12-week treatment with INNOVO I feel like I’m back to normal again and I can exercise without fear. Interestingly, I can do manual pelvic floor Kegel exercises which was never possible before I sought treatment. It is a long-lasting solution to the issue, rather than temporary symptom relief.
“That constant niggle at the back of my mind has gone and I can lunge, jump and squat to my hearts content. When I’m about and about I’m much more confident that I can hold my urge long enough to find a toilet. I don’t plan my day around access to loos anymore.”