Compensation provided by Kimberly-Clark Corporation/Poise, however, opinions and images are my own.
Motherhood is a precious gift that will change your entire world, along with your body, mind, and soul. One of the changes you may not be prepared for after having a child includes light bladder leakage (LBL), and there are important things you should know before heading to the gym or out for a jog if you experience LBL.
People will warn you about the sleepless nights, the diapers, night time feedings, and all the other horror stories that can come with motherhood, but for some reason the moment you start talking about having the baby and working out they just nod their head and agree. They nod their head and agree because they don’t want to tell you that you’re probably going experience a little leakage when you try to run, lift weights, or jump on a trampoline. If you are not prepared to Seize Your Poise Moment after having a baby, I do not suggest jumping on a trampoline, because those little leaks are very likely to come – trust me, I know from experience.
When I came home from the hospital after having my daughter, I felt great. I was honestly surprised. I guess I expected to have some down time, but I jumped right back into the swing of things. One evening my brother and the kids went outside to jump on the trampoline and I decided to join them. So I told my sister-in-law I was going to jump on the trampoline with the kids for a bit, and she told me she was going to hang out inside. She obviously knew something I didn’t, but I quickly found out what that was – LBL. Did I mention my brother was outside when this happened? Oh, and let me tell you there was nothing light about this accident. My pants were soaked, everyone knew. My daughter to this day tells everyone I peed in my pants because she heard the story from her uncle, MY BROTHER.
When I came walking in with stiff legs and wet pants, my sister-in-law giggled. It took everything I had not to cry, but I waddled back to the bathroom and took a shower. I thought something was seriously wrong with me and I blamed my sister-in-law for not warning me. Today, I blame my daughter (just kidding!).
When I came out, my sister-in-law informed me that she had a similar situation occur after having her son. My first response was, “Why in the world didn’t you tell me?” Of course, she tried to say she thought I knew, but how in the world is a woman supposed to know about LBL in their 20s if nobody tells them it’s not just an age thing, it’s an if you have children thing, too?
Honestly, I was a little frustrated my sister-in-law didn’t tell me anything about LBL before I had my daughter and the fact that she let me jump on the trampoline without saying anything lead me to believe she was getting me back for something. She wasn’t and I’m SO glad things happened the way they did because can you imagine if I would have been at the gym lifting weights? Oh my goodness, that would have been so embarrassing. I was honestly scared to work out at that point, the only thing I was comfortable doing was going for a walk. Forget squats or lifting weights at the gym ever again.
At my next doctor appointment, I talked to my doctor about LBL and learned a whole lot. Here I was acting like my life was over, I would never be able to work out, laugh, or even cough again. Talking to my doctor was a little awkward but to this day, I am so glad I did because that was the day I got my life back. Shouldn’t we be saving one another from these moments? There are products out there to help with LBL, like Poise.
Thanks to Poise I work out five days a week which involves everything that I was scared to do previously – lifting weights, jogging, squats, and anything else I feel like doing. Okay, except jumping on the trampoline. I haven’t mustered up the courage for that one yet! You can Seize Your Poise Moment too with new Poise Thin-Shaped Light Absorbency Pads, which are the thinnest pads that you’ll find for light bladder leakage and are designed to move with your body.
The fact that women are too embarrassed to talk about bladder leakage with their doctor or even give friends a heads up tells me that we are not talking enough to make others comfortable enough to talk about it. Did you know that 1 in 3 women live with LBL? Also, 1 out of 5 women experiences stress urinary incontinence, which are little leaks that can happen when lifting weights, coughing, sneezing, exercising, etc. It’s crazy to think we are not talking about bladder leakage more openly especially because there are options that can give us our lives back.
Poise continues to reinvigorate the light incontinence category with their new Thin-Shape Light Absorbency Pads. Unlike pads designed for your period, Poise Thin-Shape Light Absorbency Pads are designed specifically for LBL and are up to 40% thinner than original Poise brand pads. Poise has a variety of products so there is something for everyone. Don’t let light bladder leakage slow you down, Seize Your Poise Moment.
