During my first bounce on the trampoline, I felt it. A squirt. I was already back up in the air and couldn’t stop my second bounce. Squirt. There was no holding it back as I slowed my bounces — squirt, squirt, squirt.
I’d gone to the indoor trampoline park in my husband’s hometown with his siblings and our kids. As I walked (quickly) off the trampoline, I could feel that my jeans were wet from my butt down the backs of my thighs.
Yep. I had peed my pants.
I went to the bathroom to empty my bladder and survey the damage. I contemplated taking my jeans off and holding them under the hand dryer but opted against it. How do you explain that to someone walking in? Instead, I hung out in the empty game area while my toddler pretended to play driving games and my pants dried out.
I was totally humiliated.
I don’t know if anyone else noticed the wetness on my pants, but I knew. And it ruined my night. Not only was I embarrassed, I couldn’t jump any more after “the incident.” I didn’t get to join in on the fun being had by the rest of my family.
The medical term for this bladder leakage — for peeing your pants! — is “stress incontinence.”
When extra pressure on the bladder overwhelms the muscles that control the flow of urine — the pelvic floor and the “bladder sphincter” — it causes leaking of urine. Childbirth weakens both of these muscles; thus, stress incontinence is extremely prevalent among mothers. Especially those who are over 35 (check) and have had a vaginal delivery (check — twice!).
To add insult to injury, the “extra pressure” takes many forms — laughing, coughing, sneezing, jumping, running, lifting weights, etc. All things that mothers are doing all the time!
So what’s the solution? Adult diapers?
Naturally, I turned to the internet to try to solve my problem. I could wear a pad every day, but I could also get to work on my Kegels to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles. For more persistent leakage, a woman can be fitted for something called a pessary, which is a ring similar to the outer ring of a diaphragm. It supports the bladder and can be used all the time, or only during physical activity. Last, there is the surgical option for those with serious incontinence issues. A doctor inserts a u-shaped mesh sling that permanently supports the urethra and helps keep it closed, stopping leakage.
My daughter is going to a birthday party at the trampoline park this weekend, so I’m off to do my Kegels! And I’ll make sure to hit the bathroom before my feet hit that trampoline.