If you feel bathroom is just the place that you need to be all the time, well, we’d say it’s not that bad after all!!
This pregnancy symptom is not enjoyed by any woman, but, it’s one of the most common symptoms that starts during the first trimester, somewhere around 6 weeks down and gets worse in late pregnancy, from about week 35 of your journey. Yes, it continues well after delivery as well!
Of course, frequent trips to the bathroom would be upsetting you, and honestly, there isn’t much that can be done to combat it. However, it would relieve you to know that the urge to pee again and again is when you are pregnant does not always indicate a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), although there is a possibility.
What Causes You To Urinate Frequently? During pregnancy, there is excessive use of fluid and blood, which is excreted through the kidneys. The flow of the blood increases in the pelvic area and this is because the pregnancy hormone hCG increases blood flow to the kidneys.
The kidneys are actually overworking themselves and flushing the wastes out of the body. Since you have been urinating for two, the flow keeps getting better and more efficient. As the pregnancy progresses, your body does more and more work with fluids and blood. It is considered to be good as the body is getting rid of the waste quickly.
The uterus puts pressure on the bladder during the early weeks of pregnancy, which then stores less urine. In the second trimester, once the uterus spreads into the abdominal cavity the pressure is quite less, although it may not be much relief.
During the last trimester, especially when the baby’s head is down and he presses the bladder in order to prepare himself for birth, you’ll have the need to urinate even more than the first two phases.
How To Deal With Frequent Trips To The Bathroom? Try these tips reduce the number of trips to the bathroom:
• Avoid having coffee or tea as they are known to be diuretic.
• Considering not having water or fresh juices to avoid frequenting the bathroom is strictly not advised. It is most important to stay hydrated.
• What one can do is to try having plenty of liquids during the day and cut back on them during evenings to avoid the night trips and spend sleepless nights. It might not be of much help but might just be a bit of relief.
• Before going to bed, try to minimise the intake of fluids, if possible avoid fluids after dinner- especially diuretic.
• Before leaving home for work and vice versa, make that last trip to the restroom with patience.
• Leaning forward when you urinate helps empty the bladder completely. To ensure yourself that the bladder is empty once you pee till the last drop, pee once again.
• Include kegel exercises as a part of your daily routine, kegels benefit immensely.
• Try not to think much about your bathroom visits – treat this as normal and laugh it out. Do not stress yourself out on such a small issue.
Is It Normal? It is not wrong to frequently urinate, but some women may get a bladder infection or a urinary tract infection (UTI). If you experience any of the symptoms such as burning sensation during urinating, pain in the abdominal region, urge to pee when all you can is make way for a few drops – it would be better to talk to the doctor about it as this might lead to a preterm labor or a kidney infection or maybe both.
In your third trimester, it is possible that you leak urine when you sneeze, laugh, cough or do exercises. Known as stress incontinence this will go away once the baby arrives or stretch to a few days postpartum. Kegel exercises can help strengthen muscles and minimize stress incontinence – and must be made a part of your pregnancy regime.
If you are in the early weeks of pregnancy, try not to get too low with this, it will get better as you graduate to the next trimester. Your trips to the bathroom will decrease and you will feel better. This is, somehow, how nature prepares you to have interrupted sleep during the months to come when you have a baby!
