No more Kegels: I found a fix for post-birth incontinence - why don't more women know about it?

[littlemissmartypants]

After years of worrying that running or sneezing would leave me needing fresh underwear, a quick, minimally invasive procedure changed my life

Gail Cornwall in San Francisco
Tue 30 Dec 2025 12.00 EST

Some of my earliest memories feature my mother’s leotard-encased body bouncing to Jane Fonda with abandon. A similar carefree fluidity prevailed a decade later, as her feet struck hard-packed sand on a shorebreak jog. Twelve-year-old me panted alongside, so desperate to be made in her image that I tolerated heated cheeks and shaking quads. Their trembling barely subsided during the one stop we made, for her to wade into the waves and pee.

But it got easier to keep up after she gave birth to my youngest brother, with her squatting in the bushes every 10 minutes or so. Soon, even that wasn’t enough to staunch the flow. She gave up and switched to hiking. “I should have done more Kegels,” she quipped.

And that’s how I learned – before I’d even taken the SAT – about the repetitive undercarriage squeezing recommended for millions of Americans.

I recently learned something else: women don’t have to live like this.
Snip...

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/dec/30/peeing-after-childbirth-incontinence-sui-solution

❤️pants

[Dear_Prudence]

1. See a physiotherapist first

The Kegels-only approach is too often inadequate to address pelvic floor disfunction. It is like trying to address shoulder pain by scrunching your sore shoulders up around your ears for hours a day. There are physical therapy specialists who can provide a holistic program addressing pelvic floor strength, pelvic floor function, and bladder training. That might be the first thing to consider before going for a procedure. If one's insurance would cover a procedure, it would likely cover therapy if a general practitioner prescribes it. The article does very well describe the severity of the problem on quality of life; so often women's health issues are just swept aside. Thank you for posting.

[littlemissmartypants]

2. You're welcome....

But the article is comprehensive in assessment of the wide variety of reasons many suffer in silence with incontinence.

For example, "...shame keeps women from learning about other options."

The importance of evaluating, "...the cause and severity of the incontinence."

That healthcare for women in general as a group is substandard. "Why don’t more women know about treatment options?" Because we are shamed, not taken seriously and are too quick to suffer in silence.

No one approach is going to work for everyone but having knowledge of "...a quick, safe, minimally invasive, and cost-effective procedure..." eliminated the writer's incontinence and significantly improved her quality of life.

Additionally, she shares,

"And here’s the kicker: When Dr Van Kuiken did my physical exam, after I’d already chosen fillers, she said: “Your pelvic floor is actually really strong. No amount of Kegels was going to fix this for you.”

The burden of improving the quality of one's life should not be the entire responsibility of the one suffering.

Science and Medicine need to do a much better job of meeting the health care needs of those who "hold up half the sky." *

Thanks for your reply, Dear_Prudence.

❤️

*https://www.socratic-method.com/quote-meanings/mao-zedong-women-hold-up-half-the-sky