Yes, I Pee A Little. No, I’m Not Ashamed Anymore.

I wasn’t even 30 years old when it happened. It was just another day in my late 20s as a mom of three and recently postpartum. We were reading books and singing songs on the floor, but then I went to get up and there it was—an unexpected gush.

Panicked and confused, I ran to the bathroom to relieve whatever was left in my bladder. Fortunately for the toilet, there wasn’t much to empty. Unfortunately for my underwear, I leaked enough that I had to change into a fresh pair.

I was a young mom who had given birth to three babies in five years, and at that point, I realized my age didn’t matter. Despite feeling strong, healthy and capable, it felt like my body was failing me or that I had done something wrong. I had sacrificed the years when I could have been travelling and getting to know myself, and had traded that for difficult pregnancies that broke my body down. And now, on top of everything else, I was peeing myself!

“Don’t worry, Mommy. I pee my pants some- times, too,” my chubby-cheeked three-year-old, Isla, whispered from the open doorway. Her show of support was enough to distract me from my downward spiral and make me laugh (good thing I’d already emptied my bladder).

A few months later, my ongoing incontinence came up while chatting with another mom, who breezily said to just wear a pad and that she always wore one, especially when she went on walks or exercised. At that point in time, I had never considered it or even realized there were pads specifically designed for bladder leaks. Then again, I never talked about incontinence because I felt ashamed, as if I did something wrong. That one conversation made such a difference in breaking the stigma—and my silence—because I realized I wasn’t alone and that shame finally began to slip away. After we parted ways, I went straight to the drugstore to find these game-changing pads.

I was at the point where any kind of exercise—jogging, hiking, Pilates—would inevitably lead to some leakage. I had to be careful with the types of exercise and movements I tried— forget about jumping jacks and I wouldn’t dare go near a trampoline. So the next day, before heading out to a Pilates class, I tossed a pad in my bag and went to the gym. By the end of class, with that pad in my pants, I was sold. I hadn’t felt that confident (and dry) in a long time.

It’s been nearly a decade since I lost control of my bladder for the first time and I no longer feel shame about needing support for my body. There’s so much secrecy around this bodily function, even though many people commonly experience incontinence. While pads provide a helpful solution, it’s important to speak with a physician, as there are a variety of causes for men and women—according to the Canadian Continence Foundation, 3.3 million Canadians experience incontinence.

Although I may not always have control of my bladder, I do have control over how I move through my day with confidence. I wear a pad whenever I exercise or will be out of the house for an extended period of time, and I carry a backup in my purse—for me or for anyone else who might need a little sup- port. Even my kids know that “Mom needs her pads because she pees a little.” Whether we’re aging, have a medical condition or adjusting to our new postpartum bodies, it’s important to normalize that our bodies function differently and that’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

Learn more about TENA Sensitive Care Pads and find the right incontinence pad for you at tena.ca.
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