- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- grandparents today articles
- grandparents today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Bladder Training 101
A Guide for Caregivers
By Melinda Copp
The pelvic floor is made up of layers of muscles and tissues that play an important role in continence. When these muscles weaken with age or from other conditions, bladder leaks can occur. Pelvic floor exercises, or Kegels, can strengthen these muscles and help reduce leaks.
To start, have your care receiver or loved one identify the pelvic floor muscles. These are the ring of muscles around the rectum and the muscles they would use to stop the flow of urine midstream. If they are tightening the correct muscles, men should feel the base of their penis move up slightly toward their abdomen. Women should feel the muscles around their vagina, urethra and rectum tighten all at once. Advise your loved one or care receiver not to tighten their abdominal muscles or buttocks or squeeze their legs together while doing Kegels to ensure that he or she is isolating the right muscles.
Once your loved one has identified the pelvic floor muscles, he or she should tighten them and hold them for as long as possible. Have your loved one work up to 10 seconds and then rest for four seconds before tightening again.
The second pelvic floor exercise involves tightening these same muscles in rapid succession to help them react to sudden stresses that put pressure on the bladder and often cause leaks, such as sneezing, laughing and coughing. But rather than holding the muscles tight for several seconds, your care receiver or loved one should draw the pelvic floor muscles in and hold them tight for a second, release for a second and then tighten again. These exercises should be repeated up to 10 times in a row and six times a day, according to the United Kingdom-based Continence Foundation.