Many women experience urinary incontinence after childbirth. Usually, it is caused by hormones related to pregnancy, by the weight of the fetus during pregnancy, or by damage to bladder muscles during a traditional delivery. It can last for months or even years after giving birth, and although it is usually mild and more annoying than harmful, it can be a source of significant irritation and self-consciousness for new mothers.

There are various kind of urinary incontinence, of which stress incontinence - the type most often experienced by new mothers - is one. Another is overflow incontinence, which is the inability to empty the bladder. Still another is urge incontinence, which describes sudden urges to urinate, sometimes so severe that a person cannot get to the bathroom on time.

Stress incontinence means that you leak urine when you exert stress on the bladder. Coughing, sneezing, or lifting a heavy object (like a baby) can all place stress on the bladder, causing urine to leak out because the sphincter muscle of the bladder has been weakened.

For most women, stress incontinence that is caused by pregnancy is a temporary condition. That it is temporary, however, does not make it any less irritating. Especially when it lasts for a long time after the baby is born, urine leakage is embarrassing, and many women go to great lengths to avoid it. They refrain from activities that place stress on the bladder, including sex. They may also become marginally less spontaneous, since sudden movements can cause self-consciousness.

In severe cases, medical treatments are available that can reverse or at least significantly reduce urinary incontinence. However, most doctors will resort to these treatments only after trying to solve the problem with behavior modification, such as bladder training, and physical rehabilitation, such as Kegel exercises. In most cases, these methods are effective solutions to stress incontinence, and more aggressive medical treatments are not needed.

Bladder training usually involves keeping a schedule of urination in order to keep the bladder as empty as possible. Women on a bladder training regimen will use the bathroom much more frequently than usual (called "timed voiding") leaving less urine to leak out when stress occurs.

Kegel exercises have become nearly synonymous with post-pregnancy rehabilitation, and they are by far the most effective way to regain complete bladder control. The exercise consists of contracting and clenching the muscles in the vagina used to control the flow of urine. This targeted exercise, repeated often over time, gradually strengthens the bladder sphincter, allowing it to maintain a seal even when stress is placed on the bladder.

For the vast majority of women, behavior modification, Kegel exercises, and the natural strengthening and recovery that happens with the passage of time are enough to repair the damage done by pregnancy. Urinary incontinence resulting from pregnancy usually doesn't become a permanent condition, especially if the right regimen of exercise and activity is maintained.