![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/cropped-shot-young-woman-underwear-1002187592.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n7<\/p>\n
Around 14 million of us, or one in five, experience bladder leakageCredit: Getty 7<\/p>\n Tina Engelmann, 48, suffers with incontinence and her trouble got worse with the birth of her second child aged only 42Credit: supplied 7<\/p>\n Tina, who has helped herself with a combination of physical therapy, breathing exercises and massage, wants to help break the taboo on incontinenceCredit: supplied<\/p>\n \u201cAs a Pilates instructor, I had worked on my pelvic floor. I couldn\u2019t understand why this was happening to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Tina\u2019s incontinence had worsened with the birth of her second child<\/a>, and she was only 42 years old.<\/p>\n Now, it wasn\u2019t just urine leaks<\/a>, but faecal, too.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cAs women, we are conditioned into thinking this is normal \u2014 that it\u2019s just an \u2018oops moment\u2019. But I was not prepared to live this way.\u201d<\/p>\n An estimated\u00a014 million\u00a0of us, or one in five, experience bladder\u00a0leakage<\/a>.\u00a0A further 6.5 million, or one in ten, have difficulty controlling their bowel, according to Bladder & Bowel UK.<\/p>\n It\u2019s likely these figures are just the tip of the iceberg, as embarrassment holds people back from seeking help.<\/p>\n But very few talk about these troubles as openly as Tina, who wants to help break the taboo.<\/p>\n Breathing exercises<\/p>\n Dr Shazia Malik (shaziamalik.co.uk<\/a>) is a consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician, and says of those who are suffering with leaks: \u201cOnly ten to 20 per cent of them come forward for treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n Tina\u2019s leaks began when she was 39 after the delivery of her first child.\u00a0Vaginal deliveries, especially those involving forceps or ventouse \u2014 as Tina\u2019s was \u2014 can weaken the pelvic-floor muscles.<\/p>\n She recalls: \u201cIf I coughed, I would pee. If I laughed, I would pee. I struggled to bend over and bath the baby without wetting myself.\u201d<\/p>\n The 4 best moves to beat incontinence, boost your sex life & flatten your tummy<\/p>\n Tina suffered a prolapse but she managed to improve her symptoms with physical therapy.\u00a0When she had her second daughter three years later, though, her symptoms returned with a vengeance \u2014 and GPs gave her little help.<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n Getting through the weekly food shop without leaking was a challenge for TinaCredit: supplied 7<\/p>\n She is now a pelvic-floor coach and has helped dozens of women get their lives back on trackCredit: supplied<\/p>\n She says: \u201cI\u2019d leak through pads. One time I ran up to a shop and my pad burst. I had wee running down my legs.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just told to get some big nappies. I couldn\u2019t wear the clothes I loved as the nappies would show through.\u201d<\/p>\n Even just getting through the weekly food <\/a>shop without leaking was a challenge.<\/p>\n As for socialising, forget it. If I went out and laughed my head off, I\u2019d probably leak all over the bar stool. Intimacy, forget it too. I was embarrassed to speak to my husband <\/p>\n Tina Engelmann <\/p><\/blockquote>\n And there were other problems. Tina, who lives near Ipswich, adds: \u201cI couldn\u2019t play with my children<\/a>, I couldn\u2019t run around with them as they got older. Trampolines were a big no-no. I felt like a boring mum.<\/p>\n \u201cAs for socialising, forget it.\u00a0If I went out and laughed my head off, I\u2019d probably leak all over the bar-stool. <\/p>\n \u201cIntimacy, forget it too.\u00a0I was embarrassed to speak to my husband [about the issue].<\/p>\n \u201cI used a separate bin for my nappies so he wouldn\u2019t see. I kept it a secret. I didn\u2019t want him to know I was pooping my pants.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if I felt a bit sexy, the pads stank of chemicals and urine. It was very offputting.<\/p>\n \u201cI just felt so down and so hopeless. It didn\u2019t help that I was told by professionals this was how it would be from now on.\u201d<\/p>\n But Tina has helped herself with a combination of physical therapy, breathing exercises and massage.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat doesn\u2019t work is doing a few kegels,\u201d she says.\u00a0\u201cAnd the Squeezy app recommended by the NHS, it\u2019s rubbish.\u00a0You need to look at the whole picture, not just the pelvic floor.\u00a0Look at the whole of your core\u00a0(muscles),\u00a0posture, breathing and diet.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, mum-of-four Lindsey Gage carries spare knickers in her bag in case of leaks. The content creator, 42, began leaking after having second son Finlay, now 16. She\u2019d had no issues after having first child Bailey, now 20.<\/p>\n Her symptoms then worsened after giving birth to twins, Scarlett and Thea, now eight.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cThere have been times when my kids have wanted me to chase them, but as soon as I start running, I feel wee trickling down my leg,<\/p>\n I now carry spare pants in my bag, and there have been many times where I\u2019ve had a leak and had to change myself<\/p>\n Lindsey Gage <\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cIf I take the kids to a trampoline park, that will cause little trickles. Sneezing, laughing or coughing would also cause pee to come out.<\/p>\n \u201cI recently had a cough for three weeks that got so bad I had to buy pads.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt embarrassed buying them, given that I\u2019m only 42. I thought they were for old ladies, and I\u2019d never imagined I\u2019d have to wear them at my age.<\/p>\n \u201cI now carry spare pants in my bag, and there have been many times where I\u2019ve had a leak and had to change myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Lindsey, from Cardiff, had physiotherapy in February 2020 but the service was then stopped during Covid<\/a>. She has never been back to the GP<\/a> since.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cI try to remember to do my pelvic floor exercises<\/a> and when I do, it helps.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s often assumed incontinence is triggered by having kids, or age, but obesity<\/a>, genetics, bladder damage<\/a> or irritation and neurological conditions such as MS<\/a> are other causes.<\/p>\n Nerve stimulation<\/p>\n A decline in women\u2019s oestrogen levels during menopause<\/a> can also weaken the pelvic floor.<\/p>\n Dr Malik often sees women in her clinic who have suffered in silence for many years.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cMany see it as a normal consequence of having children and this should not be the case.<\/p>\n \u201cWomen should know there are options available to help them.<\/p>\n Dr Malik insists pelvic-floor exercises do help with reducing leaks, and she recommends that new mums should try to do them several times a day \u2014 perhaps while feeding their babies<\/a>.<\/p>\n But lifestyle changes can make a difference, too, such as quitting smoking<\/a>, cutting own alcohol<\/a> and caffeine and losing weight<\/a>.<\/p>\n Surgery is also available, in extreme cases.<\/p>\n I felt hopeless for a while but you can turn your life around<\/p>\n Tina Engelmann <\/p><\/blockquote>\n Dr Malik advises new mums: \u201cIf you are still leaking urine at your eight-week post-natal check, tell your GP or midwife. They may refer you to a specialist for help.<\/p>\n \u201cBut even if you have been suffering for a long time, this does not mean it is not easily treatable.<\/p>\n \u201cNew medications are being developed. We can offer nerve stimulation or Botox<\/a> injections.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can also test to work out the best treatment for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Now a pelvic-floor coach, Tina \u2014 see Instagram<\/a> @reclaimandrecover \u2014 has since helped dozens of women get their lives back on track after incontinence.<\/p>\n She says: \u201cI felt hopeless for a while but you can turn your life around.<\/p>\n \u201cI am sharing my story as we need to be more open about this – it shouldn\u2019t be a taboo subject.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can break this cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n Mum-of-four Lindsey Gage, 42, carries spare knickers in her bag in case of leak 7<\/p>\n The content creator’s symptoms then worsened after giving birth to her twins<\/p>\n Why you should never go for a ‘just-in-case’ wee<\/p>\n CHANCES are this scenario will sound familiar to you… <\/p>\n You’re just about to leave the house and quickly pop to the loo, ‘just in case’.<\/p>\n If so, you could be putting yourself at risk of incontinence, experts warn.<\/p>\n Pelvic health<\/a>\u00a0physiotherapist Esther Stubbs said: “By peeing frequently, you are training your bladder to want to empty when it isn\u2019t full.”<\/p>\n One of the easiest ways to help your pelvic floor is to stop this habit immediately, she added. <\/p>\n Other experts have warned that you’re actually making your bladder more sensitive.<\/p>\n Prof Stergios Doumouchtsis<\/a>, a leading expert in urogynaecology based at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said ‘just-in-case’ pees mean the\u00a0bladder learns<\/a>\u00a0to give you signals of fullness at lower volumes.<\/p>\n “The purpose of the bladder as a reservoir for urine can become compromised, and therefore the bladder will start needing the toilet and sending you signals of urgency too early, when the volumes of the bladder are lower, or more frequently,” they added.<\/p>\n “The bladder won’t necessarily become anatomically smaller. But functionally it is smaller.<\/p>\n “Therefore it can affect our activities because we become more engaged to the bladders\u2019 calls.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WHEN Tina Engelmann had an accident while running for the bus, she wondered, \u201cHow has it come to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1389,443,105,426,302,209,210,211,117,1390,437,1002,213,118,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-192851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-children-parenting-and-family-life","9":"tag-diet-nutrition-and-weight-loss","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-health-warnings","12":"tag-heart-disease","13":"tag-longtail","14":"tag-mental-health-and-illness","15":"tag-nhs","16":"tag-parenting-advice","17":"tag-pregnancy-and-childbirth","18":"tag-section-healthnews-health","19":"tag-sex","20":"tag-sun-club","21":"tag-the-sun-newspaper","22":"tag-uk","23":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114701162672699131","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Tina](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/health-tuesday-tina-engelmann-48-1002173498.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/health-tuesday-tina-engelmann-48-1002173509.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/health-tuesday-tina-engelmann-48-1002173608.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Black](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/health-tuesday-tina-engelmann-48-1002173602.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Lindsey_Gage__6_jpeg-JS1003386071.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Lindsey_Gage__7_jpeg-JS1003386021.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n