Frequent Urination in Pregnancy

Have you been rushing to the bathroom ever so more recently?  Well you do not need to worry. Frequent urination is one of the most common early pregnancy signs that a woman experiences. You may feel the need to urinate even if your bladder is almost empty.

Why do you need to use the bathroom so often?

The higher rate of urinating begins quite early in pregnancy, and is much more prominent during the first and last trimester of the gestation period. This is because of different reasons. During first trimester, there are lot of hormonal changes in the body of a woman. The rise in the level of pregnancy hormone HCG causes more of body fluids to be expelled from the kidneys. As the baby grows, the uterus grows significantly large to pressurize your uterus. This causes a reduction in bladder’s capacity and you may feel the urge to pee even though the bladder is empty.

If your bladder is not very strong, you can leak some urine even while you are coughing, sneezing or laughing too hard.

How can you reduce the toilet trips?

Although frequent urination is a common pregnancy feature, you may do your bit to reduce some of the time you spend in the toilet. The mentioned tips are bound to prove helpful in doing so.

• Drink a lot of water during the day, 8 to 10 glasses at least.
• However, cut down the water some time before going to sleep.  Drinking a lot of water at night will only interrupt your sleep throughout the night.
• Reduce the caffeine intake. Avoid tea, coffee, colas as all of these are diuretics and increase the water retention in your body. You can opt for juices, coconut water and herbal tea instead to keep you fresh and rejuvenated.
• Do Kegel exercises regularly. This will make the muscles that keep the urethra closed much stronger and avoid problems like leakage.
• Always try to empty the bladder completely. Do not hold down the urge to go to the toilet, instead lean slightly forward while urinating to empty the bladder.
• You can use a panty shield to save yourself from inconvenience due to unexpected leaks.

When will the bathroom trips stop?

The urge to urinate more can often stretch through the entire length of pregnancy. As much as you are troubled by this, rest assured that the problem will vanish automatically after the little one is born. This problem is only due to the huge uterus and the hormonal changes, both of which will subside after the delivery. You might not sleep well during the last trimester due to your huge size and the tendency of urinating due to the pressure of baby’s weight on the uterus. Even after delivery, the body will try to get rid of most of the fluids and you may urinate to eliminate the extra fluids. But the problem will soon go away and you will return back to your normal self.

When is it a cause of concern?

If you have any one or more of these signs accompanying urination, it may indicate a possible complication:

• Blood in urine
• Urge to urinate again just after you have urinated
• Fever
• Pain or burning sensation while urinating

All these signs indicate a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). Although UTIs are common during pregnancy, you must tell your doctor about your problem and get yourself treated right away. If the UTI is left untreated, it may further complicate the situation. You may have a kidney infection and greater chances of premature birth of the baby in such a situation.