ReVitalize Mama

Children mirror the nervous systems of their primary caregivers. They require a stable & regulated adult to help them to regulate their own nervous system. A mom who is stressed, dysregulated, and still dealing with the consequences of birth trauma, cannot nurture and help to adequately regulate her baby’s nervous system. She requires more support & more tools to help her find balance again. Otherwise her relationship with her baby, her partner and herself with suffer greatly.

As mama’s ourselves, we get that those early weeks postpartum can be physically, emotionally, and energetically draining. You want to be able to focus all of you energy and attention to nurturing and caring for your little one, but let’s face it, it’s hard.
Your body has just been through intense physical trauma and you are still healing. You need support. You deserve support. We are here for you mama!

✨🚽 BLADDER CONTROL BASICS | BLADDER TRAINING 🚽✨

Babies are born incontinent. Meaning that they do not have voluntary control over their bladder (or bowels). When they begin to walk and move about the world they also begin to have improved control of their bladder. This is not a coincidence. Movement of the hips and pelvis triggers the activation of the pelvic floor muscles and improves control over bladder function. As we age and become less mobile or begin to have restrictions in the movement of our hips and pelvis, this results in an increased incidence of incontinence and leakage. Movement is an essential part of maintaining proper bladder control.

In addition, the bladder is controlled both consciously by the somatic nervous system and subconsciously by the autonomic nervous system. When the bladder is half of the way full of fluid (about 200 ml of fluid), it sends a signal to the brain and the brain tells the muscles in the walls of the bladder to contract. However, we can consciously override this signal by tightening the muscles of the pelvic floor and signaling the bladder to relax. The urge to urinate is therefore just a signal from the bladder to the brain as it stretches and fills with urine. This does not mean that you need to listen and immediately run to the bathroom. Urges can be felt even when the bladder is not full and you should be able to go at least 2 hours between voiding/emptying your bladder. The urge will peak and then dissipate over time once you send a signal for it to relax. If this is not the case and you feel unable to control this urge to urinate, then bladder training is the right course of action for you. Also, refer to the post about bladder irritating foods, as this may be a part of the reason you have an increased urge to urinate.

BLADDER TRAINING

If you have an urge to urinate after you have recently urinated, or before you can get to a bathroom, try these strategies.

1. Bladder Relaxation breathing — Start by sitting down, as pressure on the bottom can help to calm the bladder and decrease the urge to urinate. Next, take a deep breath into your belly, and as you breathe out, tighten your abdominals and pull your belly up and in. Focus on your bladder as you breathe and visualize the muscles around the bladder relaxing as you breathe in and out. Keep breathing in this way slowly and steadily as you relax the rest of your body and release any tension.

2. Urge Suppression Technique — In a seated position, now incorporate pelvic floor contractions (Kegels). Take another deep breath and on the breath out, tighten and lift the muscles of your perineum (the pelvic floor). Hold and do 5-10 quick contractions (lifts) of the pelvic floor muscles to signal to the bladder that it is not time to urinate yet. Do this repeatedly until you feel the bladder relax and the urge die down. If you have a hard time contracting and finding the pelvic floor muscles, then you can also sit at the edge of a chair and raise your heels up and down 10 times. This can also help to relax the nerves to the bladder and decrease the urge.

3. Distraction — After you have done the bladder relaxation breathing and urge suppression techniques, distract yourself. If you tend to be overly focused on needing to go to the bathroom and worry about finding a restroom in time, it may be beneficial to find a healthy distraction to take your mind off of the bathroom. Find an activity to distract you such as meditation, going for a walk, or slowly counting to 20. It does not matter what you choose as a distraction, just try and get out of your head and stop focusing on the need to p*e.

If you try these exercises and have a hard time, reach out to a pelvic floor physical therapist. They can help you to locate and activate the pelvic floor muscles and help you to improve and strengthen your connection to your bladder. Using these techniques in combination with the dietary changes outlined in my last post, will significantly reduce or completely take away any urges to go to the bathroom. If you have questions, feel free to reach out. Good luck!

Limit yourself to your comfort zone and you will limit opportunities for expansion, growth, and bliss. Go big and experience the beauty of life’s extremes.