After delivery, your midwife will give you a bowl to measure your urine in. It is important for your midwife to know the volume of urine to ensure your bladder is working properly.You may have a catheter post-delivery. After the catheter is removed it is important that you pass urine within six hours. If you don’t, you must tell your midwife or doctor immediately.If you are having difficulty passing urine or have not had an urge to pass urine four hours after your catheter has been removed try:
going to sit on the toilet, relaxing and leaning forwards
turning on the taps so you can hear running water or pulling lightly on the pubic hair (both of these can help to stimulate an urge)
rocking forwards and backwards on the toilet
gently tapping over the bladder near your pubic bone for a few minutes
After birth, some women find that their bladder function is not as efficient and can experience:
urinary retention (when the urge to pass urine is absent or isn’t as strong – this leads to the bladder overfilling. This over-stretching can cause long-term damage to the bladder)
stress urinary incontinence (when urine leaks on sneezing, coughing or exercising)
urgency urinary incontinence (when you suddenly need to pass urine with no prior sensation to do so – leading to leaking of urine).
Pelvic floor exercises can help improve bladder function, however if you are worried about your urinary control, or any symptoms of bladder dysfunction persist it’s important to speak to your midwife, health visitor or GP.
