Suzie's story

As a new mother, the last year had been exhilarating and exhausting. Before giving birth, I felt really prepared…reading up on healthy eating during my pregnancy, exercising and going for regular check ups.

Then, after my beautiful daughter arrived, I had a a little urine leakage when I coughed or sneezed.  No big deal, just wore regular pantiliners. Daily.

I also felt tired and overwhelmed, so I decided to go back to my gym. What a nightmare!  It happened on the running machine – this huge leak. I freaked, ran to the changing room and then home. No one noticed but, it’s weird. I felt so ashamed I started wearing thick maxi pads every day, but why? The pads would feel damp and uncomfortable if I didn’t change them quick enough. And there was always that, uh, that smell.

So I guess I did what lots of women probably do: avoid laughing, sneezing and standing in line. I even started spraying like crazy with my cologne.

Worse, I was making excuses not to have sex with my wonderful husband. I kept telling him every week that the doctor said to wait a few weeks more.
 
Finally, I took charge of the situation. At my 6-month check up, the doctor asked how I was. She could tell I was holding something back and asked: ‘If you had a broken leg, would you hop around like nothing’s wrong?’

Then she explained that bladder weakness was among the top 20 conditions affecting new mothers, and that millions of women have “light incontinence” after birth.

She also recommended doing pelvic floor exercises and wearing an incontinence pad with odor protection. I freaked yet again because that sounded like an adult diaper to me.  But I promise you, it’s not - what I use is comfy and discreet. My real paranoia was that I might smell. Now? I’m confident that I don’t which is a huge relief. And I’m not wasting like half a bottle of cologne every day!

So, to everyone else experiencing this kind of thing, there’s absolutely no need to have a meltdown. Take control and get back into the swing of things. Go to the gym!”