That Time I Peed Myself On The Trampoline

It all started a few months after my first son was born. I was knackered, but also feeling like my body wasn’t really mine anymore. There were saggy bits that definitely weren’t there before, in places that I didn’t even know you could get saggy!

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That’s where I made my first mistake.

With hubby taking over the baby watching, I decided to hop back onto the trampoline, which we had in the living room. You know the type, the exercise ‘rebounder’ that is now coming back into fashion. Before that little baby had come along, I’d been an avid trampoline person, using my trusty tramp to have a bit of a bounce and keep in shape. Not many people know just how good a trampoline is for fitness!

So I step my new (somewhat larger) bod and booty up onto the tramp. I’m wobbly, but that’s to be expected. I take a little bounce, just a small one, and everything seems to be holding well. Perfect, I’m not totally broken, I think, and I bend my legs ready to let loose a nice big bounce. I leap, up in the air –  momentarily weightless – but as I land back down I realise something terrible.

I’ve peed.

It’s not a lot, but it’s definitely much wetter in my nether region than it was before. For some reason my body has taken my feet hitting the trampoline as a signal to release the miniature floodgates of urine. At that very same moment my husband enters the lounge with the baby, spots me red-faced on the trampoline with my legs uselessly clamped, and heads over I don’t know what to do, I can hardly hide myself at this point. I look up at him, and with all the seriousness I can muster I say: I’ve just wet myself.

He chuckles, thinking it’s a joke, and then spots my wet crotch. And then he starts to laugh. Oh boy, is he cracking up, and I start to laugh too. I’m a grown woman, and I’ve just peed my pants jumping on the trampoline.

Funny right?

But Is It Really?

Ok seriously. You know I love to spin a good yarn, particularly one that gets people giggling. And when it comes to a little leak here and there, I know my fellow mums can all relate to the embarrassment of not being able to hold it in, whether it’s a sudden sneeze, winter cough or running for the bus. Most of the time, these little leaks are just laughed off, the battle scars of being a mum. Only it really shouldn’t be laughed off, because incontinence is no laughing matter. It’s a health condition that can be successfully treated.

What’s The Deal With Incontinence?

Incontinence is more common than we would like to believe. For women aged between 45 and 60, particularly those who have gone through childbirth, it’s even more common. Despite this most people ignore it when it happens to them, and of all those affected, 8 out of 10 never seek treatment for their incontinence. Instead, 72% of respondents to a national health survey said they just laugh off incontinence.

Well, as someone who has definitely been there, I say we shouldn’t be laughing it off any more.

Incontinence is not something that you, or the other women in your life, should put up with. It’s a health condition, not a joke. If you suffer from incontinence or you’ve laughed along when your other mum-buddies share their embarrassing stories, it’s time to take action. Those dealing with incontinence can absolutely see a health professional about their issues, and there are solutions and treatment options to ensure you can live a life free of unwanted leaks.

Take Action Against Incontinence

It’s World Continence Week from June 19-25, but you shouldn’t need that to change the way you think about embarrassing bladder leaks. Check out the Continence Foundation of Australia’s website, continence.org.au, for more information on the signs of incontinence, and advice about how you can ensure that you and those around you aren’t needlessly suffering with this condition. Make a change, because incontinence is no laughing matter.