As a new mum, the last year has been exhilarating and exhausting. Before giving birth, I felt really prepared – reading up on healthy eating for pregnancy and going for regular check-ups.
Then, after my beautiful daughter arrived, I just felt tired and overwhelmed, so I decided to join a gym. And that’s when it all came to a head. I’d occasionally leaked when coughing or sneezing, so I wore a panty liner to catch the drops, but the gym was different.
It started on the running machine – this huge leak. I just ran to the changing room and then home. No one noticed, but it’s weird, I felt so ashamed. I started wearing sanitary towels every day, but the problem didn’t go away. The towels would feel damp and uncomfortable if I couldn’t change them straight away and there was that smell of pee...
So I guess I did what loads of people probably do: avoiding lifts and supermarket queues, spraying myself all over with heavy perfume. I even made excuses to avoid sex with my husband, telling him every few weeks that the doctor had said it would take "just a few more weeks".
Finally I took charge of the situation. At my six-month check-up, the mid-wife asked how I was. She could tell I was holding something back and asked me, “If you had a broken leg, would you hop about as though nothing was wrong?”
She said bladder weakness was among the top 20 conditions affecting new mums, and that loads of women have ‘light bladder weakness’ after birth. She recommended Pelvic Floor Exercises and an ‘odour-controlled bladder weakness pad’. Sounded like a big, adult nappy to me but I promise you they are not. They are pretty discreet. But my paranoia was really that I smelt and now I’m confident that I don’t, which is a huge relief. And, at least now I don’t get through half a bottle of scent a day!
So, to anyone else experiencing it, I’d say there’s really no need to worry yourself. Take control, and get back in the swing of things!