Bladder Control and Menopause

Does menopause affect bladder control?

Yes. Some women have bladder control problems after they stop having periods (menopause or change of life). If you are going through menopause, talk to your health care team.

After your periods end, your body stops making the female hormone estrogen (ES-truh-jun). Estrogen controls how your body matures, your monthly periods, and body changes during pregnancy and breast-feeding.

Estrogen also helps keep the lining of the bladder and the urethra (yoo-REE-thrah) plump and healthy.

Image of the pelvic bowl region showing the relationship of pertaining organs. Lack of estrogen causes the bladder control muscles to get weak. Your doctor may give you medicine to replace estrogen to prevent future bladder control problems.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you or your family has a history of cancer. If you face a high risk of cancer of the uterus or breast, the doctor may not prescribe estrogen.

Pressure from coughing, sneezing, or lifting can push urine through the weakened muscle. This kind of leakage is called stress incontinence. It is one of the most common kinds of bladder control problems in older women.
  
 
 Good bladder control allows women to lead a fully active life.

What else causes bladder control problems in older women?

Sometimes bladder control problems are caused by other medical conditions. These problems include A very common kind of bladder control problem for older women is urge incontinence. This means the bladder muscles squeeze at the wrong time--or all the time--and cause leaks.

If you have this problem, your health care team can help you retrain yourself to go to the toilet on a schedule.

What should you do about bladder control after menopause?

Talk to your health care team. You may have stress or urge incontinence, but other things could also be happening.

Medicines and exercises can restore bladder control in many cases. Your doctor will give you a checkup first.
  
 
 Teaching your bladder a new routine can reduce urge incontinence.

What treatments can help you regain bladder control?

It depends on what kind of bladder control problem you have. Hormone medicines are only one treatment. Your health care team may also recommend some of the following: If these simple treatments do not work, your health care team may have you try something different. These treatments might include

What professionals can help you with bladder control?

Professionals who can help you with bladder control include

Points to Remember

  • Some women have bladder control problems after they stop having periods.
  • Replacing female hormones may prevent future bladder control problems.
  • Exercising pelvic muscles can help you maintain or improve bladder control.
  • Treatment depends on the type of bladder control problem(s) you have. Talk to your health care team to find the treatment that's right for you.

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Bladder Control: Let's talk about bladder control for women. There's treatment that works.

Let's Talk about Bladder Control for Women is a public health awareness campaign conducted by the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC), an information dissemination service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health.

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NIH Publication No. 97-4186
January 1997

The information provided in this section should in no way serve as medical advice. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained here with other sources and seek medical advice from a physician. Neither the authors nor any other party who has been involved in the preparation or publication of this work warrants that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete and they are not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained for the use of such information.

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