The first pregnancy can be a strange but wonderful experience to go through, I say strange because a lot of what I can remember from my early pregnancy day's is lots of people telling me how painful childbirth is. Every time I listened to someone tell me what so many had done, my body jumped back to the 11 year old secondary school pupil I once was, having a sex education class and hearing the teacher tell all of us girls (I went to a all girls school) how giving birth was like pushing out a watermelon.
Of course I soon realised it was a scare tactic, but it actually does feel like that. What no one did tell me though was the good parts of pregnancy, like how amazing your hair and skin is! My hair during pregnancy was the best my hair has ever been, there's no product on the market that can give your hair that feel and look, just pregnancy!
Along with not telling me about the good parts of pregnancy, no one told me about the other side effects, like the cravings, morning sickness, heartburn and fainting sessions (I must admit it's rare, I fainted three times - down to low blood pressure!), the uncomfortable night sleeps as your pregnancy progressed and the amount of times you'd need to empty your bladder!
Of course the pregnancy is soon over, and labour was worth every single second of pain, nothing comes for free, and with the pain you experience you're gifted the best gift in the world - your child (or children if you've had a multiple birth!), your heart opens a new heart inside that you didn't even knew existed! You'll even stop hating your partner for getting you into that situation, well I did with Spud's dad aha!
The sickness goes, the heartburn goes and so does the cravings, the sleepless nights remain, however they're not uncomfortable but just sleepless because of baby, and the emptying your bladder situation can get a lot worse, something I wasn't aware of until I spoke to my doctor four months after giving birth to Spud.
Ten years down the line I'm still suffering with incontinence, but as I've got older, I've realised that there shouldn't be a taboo surrounding the subject. We shouldn't be afraid to talk to our doctors about the issue, and we shouldn't feel alone and embarrassed. According to the company that I've been purchasing incontinence pads from for the last few years (after having my doctor's recommendation) , one in every 4-5 people in the UK have incontinence issues - both male and female, of all ages!
I must admit before I visited my doctor three years ago to discuss ways to help myself after a bad incontinence period, I was purchasing pads from the supermarket, which wasn't even for incontinence but for monthly periods, buying pads with my weekly food shop just wasn't something I was comfortable in doing, and still aren't.
What I like about buying online is the fact that no one knows I've ordered the products and no one knows I wear them on the rare occasion when I need to. I also like the fact that with the Hartmann, thanks to an online tool of theirs, I know which products are best for me after answering just a few simple questions! Their online FAQs section is also very useful, it's full of questions and answers, helping putting everyone with incontinence whether bladder or bowel at ease!
Of course, now everyone knows my secret, but I KNOW I'm not alone! Incontinence shouldn't be a hushed subject, it shouldn't be a taboo that no one wants to talk about, and no one should feel alone and embarrassed. If you believe you have bladder or bowel incontinence, I'd suggest visiting a doctor who can help with a diagnosis. Doctors are there to help and you should get problems checked out to rule out any serious health problems.
I am one of the 14 million people in the UK (source: Bladder and Bowel Foundation) who have this issue, I am breaking the taboo today.
Jada x
