What Causes Frequent Urination In Pregnancy
If you experience frequent urination in early pregnancy, you can thank hormonal changes that increase urine production. Your uterus, which is normally the size of a fist, also grows and stretches to accommodate your baby. The enlarged uterus puts pressure on your bladder and contributes to the urge to pee, explains Richard H. Schwarz, M.D., obstetrical consultant to the March of Dimes
Most women get temporary relief from frequent urination in the second trimester. Thats because your uterus will rise higher in the abdomen and away from your bladder. But dont expect this relief to last long, since this symptom will probably make a comeback in the third trimester. The baby drops lower in your pelvis in preparation for delivery, which puts pressure on your bladder yet again.
Frequent Urination Early Pregnancy 3 Weeks
Seeking for pee more than usual? It may not be one of the first early signs of pregnancy you notice, but on the other hand having to urinate more frequently is definitely among the standard pregnancy symptoms and its tends to kick in about 2 to 3 weeks after conception.
Why does it happen?
When an egg has implanted in your uterus, the hCG hormone ramps up production and begins to rise up suddenly and dramatically.
One of the common side effects? It can make you feel like you have got to use the bathroom every 5 minutes. There is a silver lining here, that heightened hCG levels in your urine are used to detect pregnancy, that is how you will get a positive result on your home pregnancy test.
Is it common?
Each and every pregnant woman will have increased hCG levels, but not all the pregnant women will have that frequent urge to pee. But if you have that, theres no cause for concern, cause higher hCG levels are a good thing. As your pregnancy progresses, your baby will get bigger and he or she put more pressure on your bladder, so you might get used to making multiple trips to the washroom.
What should you do?
You should pick up a pregnancy test and call your doctor, if youre slipping away to visit the ladies room all night and its not because of one too many margaritas. It is so possible you have a baby on board
Demographic And Obstetric Characteristics
The respondents’ ages ranged from 1542 years with a mean of 29.6 years and the majority of them were multiparous with a mean parity of 2 children per woman. Most were in the second trimester of pregnancy, while 45.8% were in the third trimester only 2% were in the first trimester of pregnancy. About 66% of the women had a previous vaginal delivery, with 3.9% remembering a perineal injury during a previous vaginal birth 27.5% have had an episiotomy at a previous vaginal birth.
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Is Frequent Urination During Pregnancy Ever A Cause For Concern
If frequent urination is accompanied with pain, any blood in the urine, fever or chills, that would be a cause for concern, says Grundland. These symptoms could be a sign of a urinary tract infection, which is common in pregnancy. You should see your family doctor to get tested and treated.
If all you can think about is where the next bathroom will be, there may be a dysfunction in the way your pelvic muscles are working, says Grewal. The muscles supporting the bladder can weaken during pregnancy, and a pelvic physiotherapist is trained to treat the muscles so you feel more comfortable.
While frequent urination during pregnancy may be a little bit embarrassing, its generally not a sign of a problem. The big message is: its not worrisome, just annoying, but relatively easy to manage, says Grundland.
*Name has been changed
How Urine Changes Throughout Pregnancy
Many pregnant women will experience changes in their urine throughout their pregnancy, and many may notice that they are urinating more frequently than normal before they have missed their first period or taken a pregnancy test. This occurs because the body begins producing the pregnancy hormone hCG after implantation of the embryo in the uterus, and this hormone can cause frequent urination.
During pregnancy, there is an overall increase in circulating blood volume and around 25 percent of that blood is directed to the kidneys, which means a lot of extra fluid is processed through your kidneys and ends up in your bladder.
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Typical Symptoms Of A Uti Include:
Frequent urination
Burning and pain during urination
Bloody urine
A tender lower abdomen
You must contact your doctor if you develop any of these symptoms. In addition to that, your doctor will probably recommend a urine culture early in pregnancy, and again during the third trimester. Because about 5 to 10 percent of pregnant women have symptomless UTI. Without treatment, UTI can result in health problems for you and your unborn baby, such as a kidney infection, low birth weight of your baby or a premature baby. Doctor may also check your urine for bacteria at each of the prenatal visit using a dipstick, that’s, works the same way as a home pregnancy test.
UTI will be treated with a pregnancy-safe antibiotics. If the infection returns again, your doctor may also do a monthly urine culture. you also may need to take antibiotics for the rest of your pregnancy.
When Should I Talk To My Doctor About Urinary Frequency During Pregnancy
From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.
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When To Talk To A Doctor
Frequent urination is a normal pregnancy symptom. However, it also can be a sign of an underlying condition that may require medical treatment.
Pregnant people who show additional symptoms of a UTI, including painful urination, should contact their doctor as soon as possible.
Frequent urination is a part of being pregnant and should resolve after childbirth.
However, some pregnant people may experience symptoms up to six weeks after giving birth.
Pregnant people who experience pain with urination or who are still having bladder problems following birth should make an appointment to see their doctor.
How To Manage Frequent Urination During Pregnancy
Hay ladies you may find yourself getting up pee several times during the night during your pregnancy. If this really disturbs your sleep too much, try to cutting back on some fluids after 4 p.m. . You can also avoid coffee, tea, cola, and any other caffeinated beverages too, Because caffeine can increase urination.
You can Keep a soft night light in your bathroom so that you do not have to blind yourself in the middle of the night with bright overheads, and it is also for your safety purpose,
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Tingling And Numbness In Your Hands
Carpal tunnel syndrome tingling and numbness in your hands affects up to 60 per cent of women during pregnancy. It is caused by compression of the median nerve due to an increase in the tissue fluids during pregnancy.
Carpal tunnel syndrome may be mild, intermittently painful, or severe, which may cause partial paralysis of the thumb or loss of sensation. Symptoms usually resolve on their own soon after birth.
If you are experiencing tingling and numbness in your hands, inform your doctor or midwife. In very severe cases, your doctor may recommend corticosteroid injections or surgical treatment.
Why All The Pee
Excessive urination in early pregnancy is all down to the pregnancy hormone hCG, which stimulates your kidneys to produce up to 25 percent more urine. This varies between women and can occur between six and 20 weeks of pregnancy. After this time, the need to pee can be due to our growing uterus, which puts pressure on your bladder. Similarly, in the last few weeks of pregnancy, your babys head drops into the pelvis area, ready for the birth, which again presses on your poor bladder.
Read more about pregnancy symptoms:
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Diagnosis Of Frequent Urination
Most women know their bodies well enough to know when the urge to pee frequently becomes a problem. But after seeking medical attention, there are tests that experienced physicians can conduct to determine the reasons for excessive urination. Doctors typically begin an office visit by asking women with frequent urination issues a series of questions, such as these:
- How long have you been experiencing frequent urination?
- How much in fluids do you typically drink per day?
- What prescription and over-the-counter medications do you take?
- Are you experiencing other symptoms in addition to needing to urinate often?
After getting a better idea of a woman’s symptoms and lifestyle habits, the doctor may take a urine sample to test for possible infections. In some cases, a doctor may also order a cystometry, which measures bladder pressure, to arrive at an accurate diagnosis.
How Often Will I Frequently Urinate While Pregnant
You should consider it as simply more than your usual amount. It may lessen for a while when you enter your second trimester, but you will find the increased urge to pee returns later, as your growing baby places more pressure on your bladder.
Towards the end of the third trimester, when your babys position shifts, the extra pressure on your pelvis and bladder might have you racing to the bathroom even more often.
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Avoid Excess Fluids Before Bedtime
If you are waking up numerous times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, start limiting your fluid intake before bed. Your sleep is precious these days, and bathroom visits shouldnt hinder your shut-eye.
Your pregnant body retains fluids all throughout the day, and when you lay down at night, your sleeping position allows the excess fluids in your legs to be processed by your kidneys. If you elevate your legs for even an hour a day, you can reduce your nightly bathroom visits .
Remember To Stay Hydrated
Is There A Way I Can Stop Peeing So Much When Im Pregnant
You cant, says Grundland with a chuckle. To try to avoid it is futile. She does recommend reducing your caffeine intakeits a diuretic, which means it makes you pee. Health Canada advises pregnant women to drink no more than 300 mg of caffeine daily. However, it is important to stay hydrated and drink water. So if you think cutting down how much water you drink is a solution, Grundland warns that its not medically recommended.
Frequent urination is a symptom you need to manage rather than avoid. Make sure bathrooms are nearby, so you can urinate frequently to reduce the risk of incontinence, Grundland says. Grewal recommends you dont rush to the bathroom, as this can make symptoms worse. Walk slowly while taking long belly breaths as you make your way to the bathroom, she says. Rushing to the washroom can set off our fight or flight system in our body, causing the brain to think this is a normal response. This can make you feel like you will pee your pants, as the fight or flight response includes elimination of the bladder. Over time, it creates a pattern and can worsen to the point where a pregnant woman may experience leakage before reaching the bathroom.
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Raised Body Temperature During Early Pregnancy
A higher basal body temperature may also be a sign of pregnancy. Your bodys core temperature may also increase more easily during exercise or in hot weather. During this time, youll need to make sure to drink more water and exercise cautiously.
Fatigue can develop any time during pregnancy. This symptom is common in early pregnancy. Your progesterone levels will soar, which can make you feel sleepy.
When To Get Help
Be sure to contact your health professional if you experience any other symptoms along with urinary frequency, such as painful urination, fever or blood in your pee. This could signal a urinary tract infection, which requires treatment. If the urge to pee is really taking over your life, consider consulting a pelvic floor physiotherapist, who may be able to help you strengthen your pelvic floor and ease the situation.
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Dealing With Persistent Urine Leakage
During pregnancy, especially in the last trimester, you may also leak urine whenever you laugh, cough, sneeze, lift something, or exercise. This is called stress incontinence and its partly caused by the pressure of your uterus on your bladder.
You may be able to prevent leakage by doing Kegel exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles surrounding the urethra . To do a Kegel, tighten and then relax those muscles as if you’re trying to stop your urine stream. Try keeping the muscles contracted for about 10 seconds, 10 to 20 times in a row, at least three times a day.
If you’re leaking urine, panty liners may keep you a little happier until the problem goes away. Report any persistent leakage to your practitioner, just in case it’s amniotic fluid instead of urine.
How Can I Reduce Frequent Urination During My Pregnancy
While you cannot do much to lessen your need to urinate frequently, you can strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Strengthening these muscles can help you hold in your urine until you are able to get to the toilet. The best way to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles is through exercise. Exercising the muscles will also provide a sturdy support system for your bowel, uterus and bladder.
Ideally, women should do pelvic floor exercises before becoming pregnant, but it’s never too late. Remember to keep up your pelvic floor exercises after your baby is born too.
The Continence Foundation of Australia have produced this video on how to do pelvic floor exercises:
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Will It Continue After Ive Had The Baby
While you may continue to urinate more than usual after your baby is born, you will usually see an improvement in the first 6 months after the birth. This is because pelvic floor nerves, tissues and muscles are beginning to recover from pregnancy and birth. Make sure you keep up your pelvic floor exercises your midwife can also guide you with what to expect over the first few weeks and months after your babys birth.
What Are The Causes Of Frequent Urination
The reason for frequent urination during pregnancy is the hormone hCG which increases the blood flow to the womans kidneys by up to 35 to 60%. The kidneys produce up to 25% more urine after conception due to the extra blood flow. The excess production of urine peaks for about 9 to 16 weeks, only after which it settles down.
While the increased blood flow is one of the main reasons for frequent urination, it can also be affected by the increasing pressure on the womans bladder due to the growing uterus. This pressure is the primary cause for rather frequent urination by pregnant women during their final three months of pregnancy. This increase in pressure is caused as the baby grows in size and moves down into the mothers pelvis, just weeks before the birth.
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Why Pregnancy Makes Us Urinate More
This is mainly because the blood flow to the woman’s kidneys increases by up to 35 to 60 per cent. The extra blood flow makes her kidneys produce up to 25 per cent more urine soon after conception. This increased urine production peaks by about 9 to 16 weeks of the pregnancy, then settles down.
Passing urine frequently can also be influenced by pressure on the woman’s bladder from her growing uterus. Pressure on the bladder is the main reason why women pass urine frequently in the last 3 months of pregnancy, as the baby grows heavier, and moves further down into the woman’s pelvis in the weeks just before the birth.
While frequent urination is a feature of both the first and third trimesters, it is the change in pregnancy hormone levels, along with increased body fluids, that will have you running to the toilet every ten minutes day and night!
There is no way around this – and it will gradually improve – so don’t try restricting your fluids as it’s important for you and the growing baby to stay properly hydrated. You should be drinking about six to eight glasses of fluids every day in order to maintain a healthy pregnancy. If you drink less than that on a regular basis, you can become dehydrated.
You can reduce your number of bathroom trips by avoiding beverages that have a mild diuretic effect, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and alcohol .
Tips To Manage Peeing Often While Pregnant
You can’t really avoid more frequent urination, and you really wouldn’t want to, as it’s a natural consequence of drinking lots of fluids to stay well hydrated and healthy during pregnancy. Here are some tips that might help make your life easier:
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Lean forward when you pee so that you properly empty your bladder
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To prevent increased urination at night, try not to drink too much water just before going to bed
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Avoid beverages and foods containing caffeine, which can make you need to pee more often.
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Practice Kegel exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, as this can help prevent leaking when you cough, sneeze, or laugh, both before and after giving birth.
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If your urine is dark yellow or orange, this may be a sign of dehydration â try to increase your fluid intake until your urine is back to a normal pale yellow
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If you’re heading out the door, or you know you’re going into a long meeting, consider one more dash to the toilet beforehand. You can also try to scout out where the nearest bathroom so you’re not caught off guard.
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