What to expect when you're expecting (182 page)

Keep your weight down.
Start shedding those pregnancy pounds sensibly, because all those extra pounds are still applying pressure on your bladder.

Train your bladder to behave.
Urinate every 30 minutes—before you have the urge—and then try to extend the time between pees, going (without going) a few more minutes each day.

Stay regular.
Try to avoid constipation, so full bowels don’t put added pressure on your bladder.

Drink up.
Keep drinking at least eight glasses of fluid every day. It might seem that cutting back on water might cut down on the leak, but dehydration makes you vulnerable to UTIs. An infected bladder is more likely to leak, and a leaking bladder is more likely to become infected.

“I’m so embarrassed because I’ve been passing gas involuntarily lately and even leaking a little feces. What can I do about it?”

As a new mother, you definitely expected to be cleaning up after your baby—but you probably didn’t count on cleaning up after yourself. Yet some newly delivered moms do add fecal incontinence and the involuntary passing of gas to that long list of unpleasant postpartum symptoms. That’s because during labor and childbirth, the muscles and nerves in the pelvic area are stretched and sometimes damaged, which can make it difficult for you to control how and when waste (and wind) leaves your body. In most cases, the problem takes care of itself as the muscles and nerves recover, usually within a few weeks.

Until then, skip hard-to-digest foods (nothing fried, no beans, no cabbage), and avoid overeating or eating on the run (the more air you gulp, the more you are likely to pass it as gas). Keeping up with your Kegels can also help tighten up those slack muscles as well as the ones that control urine (which also may be leaking these days).

Help for Leaks That Won’t Let Up

Tried every do-it-yourself trick for dealing with postpartum urinary or fecal incontinence—including Kegel-ing until you’re blue in the face—but you’re still left with a leak? Don’t let embarrassment keep you from talking to your practitioner. He or she might suggest biofeedback (a mind-body technique that can be surprisingly effective in relieving incontinence), other treatments, or in a particularly tough case, surgery. Fortunately, the situation most often resolves itself without that kind of intervention.

“I thought all my back pain would go away after delivery, but It hasn’t. Why?”

Welcome back, backache. If you’re like nearly half of all newly delivered moms, your old pal from pregnancy has returned for an unwelcome visit. Some of the pain still has the same cause—hormonally loosened ligaments that haven’t yet tightened up. It may take time, and several weeks of soreness, before these ligaments regain their strength. Ditto for the stretched-out and weakened abdominal muscles that altered your posture during pregnancy, putting strain on your back. And of course, now that you’ve got a baby around, there’s another reason for that pain in your back: all that lifting, bending, rocking, feeding, and toting you’re doing. Especially as that cute little load you’re carrying around gets bigger and heavier, your back will be up against growing stress and strain.

While time heals most things, including those postpartum aches and pains, there are other ways to get your back back on track:

Tone that tummy. Ease into some undemanding exercises, like pelvic tilts, that will strengthen the muscles that support your back.

Mend when you bend. And lift. Give your back a break by bending from your knees to pick up that dropped diaper or lift that baby.

Don’t be a slouch on the couch. When feeding your baby, don’t slump over (as tempting as that might be, given your state of exhaustion). Your back will thank you if it’s well supported (using pillows, armrests, or whatever else lets you sit pretty).

Get off your feet. Sure, you’re running (and rocking) all the time, but whenever you don’t have to, take a seat. When you have to stand, placing one foot on a low stool will take some pressure off your lower back.

Watch your posture. Listen to your mom, Mom—and stand up straight, even when you’re swaying from side to side. Slouched shoulders result in an aching back. As your baby gets bigger, avoid resting that growing weight on one hip, which will throw your back off further, plus lead to hip pain.

Put your feet up. Who deserves to put their feet up more than you? Plus, elevating your feet slightly when sitting—and baby feeding—will ease the strain on your back.

Wear your baby. Instead of always holding your baby, wear him or her in a baby carrier or a sling. Not only will it be soothing to baby, it’ll be soothing to your achy back and arms.

Pull a switch. Many moms play favorites with their arms, always carrying (or bottle feeding) their baby in one arm or the other. Instead, alternate arms so they each get a workout (and your body doesn’t get a lopsided ache).

Rub it. A professional massage, if you can spare the time and the change, is definitely what your muscles are aching for. But in a pinch, ask your spouse to step in and rub.