Female Urinary Incontinence: It’s More Common Than You Think, But We Have Solutions

More than 25 million people in the United States experience urinary incontinence, many of them women. Despite how common it is, urinary incontinence can be embarrassing, so many women remain silent. 

Many women assume it’s just a normal part of aging, pregnancy, or childbirth that they simply have to live with. The good news is that real, effective solutions are available, and you don’t have to just “deal with it.”

See our obstetrics and gynecology specialists at Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery in Spring Valley, New York, to eliminate urinary incontinence in women. 

Incidence and symptoms of urinary incontinence in women

Urinary incontinence in women is more common than you might think, as it affects about 62% of women aged 20 and older. Symptoms can include:

• Urinating more than eight times daily
• Waking up more than twice during the night to pee
• Bed wetting
• Not being able to empty your bladder completely when using the bathroom
• Leaking urine

You might leak pee when you cough, laugh, exercise, sneeze, or bend over because of female urinary incontinence. 

5 female urinary incontinence treatment options

The experts at Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery discuss your symptoms and complete an evaluation that may include testing. They determine the type, potential cause, and severity of your female urinary incontinence. Your treatment might include:

1. Medications

Your Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery specialist may suggest you try medications to ease bothersome symptoms of urinary incontinence. You might consider other treatments in addition to (or instead of) taking medications. 

2. Topical estrogen

Applying low-dose estrogen as a cream, patch, or ring can ease unpleasant symptoms by rejuvenating tissues in your intimate areas and restoring bladder function. 

3. Electrical stimulation

Electrical stimulation uses painless pulses to stimulate the pelvic floor muscles and the nerves involved in bladder control, easing symptoms of female urinary incontinence.  

4. Medical devices

Using a tampon-like device called a urethral insert or a flexible ring inserted into your vagina can also treat female urinary incontinence without surgery. 

5. Injections

Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery offers bulking material injections or Botox® to safely relieve incontinence, especially if other conservative options haven’t worked. 

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections help reduce incontinence symptoms using a sample of your own blood to boost new cell growth. 

What can I do at home to reduce urinary incontinence?

Lifestyle changes that can help you avoid embarrassing urine leaks include:

• Practice urinating according to a schedule (timed voiding)
• Urinate before you exercise
• Try bladder training (increase the time between trips to the bathroom)
• Do kegel exercises regularly
• Avoid drinking a lot of fluids before physical activity
• Maintain a healthy body weight

Follow up with your Holistic OB/GYN & Midwifery specialist to ensure effective and lasting outcomes. We can adjust your treatment as needed to maximize results.

Learn which female urinary incontinence solution best suits you by contacting the Holistic & OB/GYN & Midwifery office by phone or requesting an appointment online.