breaking taboos to talk about urinary incontinence
“maybe making a bit of a joke can start facilitating real conversations. we need to start having real conversations.”
4 minute read
katie glaab, right, and her colleague at bd canada, cassandra gardner.
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when katie glaab walked into her colleague’s office, she didn’t expect to learn a critical health prevention tip—especially when the subject isn’t openly talked about. urinary incontinence, or ui, is taboo, even though it’s so common with 10 per cent of canadians affected. the loss of bladder control can be embarrassing, whether you’re occasionally leaking urine when you sneeze or laugh, or you have urges to urinate that are so sudden you don’t get to a bathroom in time.
“it’s something that we can make jokes about. ‘oh, every time i laugh, a little comes out,” says glaab, an elora, ontario marketer with medical technology company bd canada. “maybe making a bit of a joke can start facilitating real conversations. we need to start having real conversations.” she wants to share her experience for world continence week, june 16 to 22, 2025, marked by advocacy organizations like the canadian continence foundation.
urinary incontinence linked to childbirth and chronic conditions like multiple sclerosis
glaab says she works with a great team who’ve become good friends. she’s very open with everyone about her health, which is something she feels strongly about to build community and support. she has multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that disrupts communication between the brain and the rest of the body, leading to debilitating symptoms. at 36, she’s a mom of two little ones and has a lot on her plate already. there likely will be difficult years ahead with her disease and health prevention is big for her.
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still, the conversation with her colleague took her by surprise. her colleague, cassandra ‘casey’ gardner, asked her about ui. “she goes, ‘did you know that you have an 80 per cent chance of developing urinary incontinence because of your ms?’” glaab says. “i had no idea. and i i sat there with my jaw just hanging.”
gardner went on to talk about different strategies she could try for preventing ui, including pelvic floor muscle training to help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, as well as reduce the severity of symptoms of certain underlying conditions. kegels is the most well-known of these exercises, where you contract your navel to your spine and quickly contract, hold for one second and then release your pelvic floor muscles. ideally, you start incorporating kegels into your routine by lying on the floor with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. then as you build muscle and proficiency, you can try sitting or standing while doing kegels (when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store or coffee shop, for example).
another exercise for building function and awareness of pelvic floor muscles is diaphragmatic breathing. you lie down with one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen and focus on taking deep full breaths, slowly inhaling and exhaling.
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talking about loss of bladder control can start prevention strategies
the conversation was a wakeup call for glaab. “if i hadn’t been open and casey hadn’t said this is a very real thing, i would have had no idea. i wouldn’t have been able to start doing the things now to set myself up for success when inevitably i am dealing with this,” she says. “this isn’t something that i can say will never impact me. the thing that boggles my mind is that it’s bigger than ms,” she says, pointing out that most women who experience childbirth have postpartum bladder control problems.
and ui is not just a common challenge for women. about 3.3 million canadians experience some form of ui, according to the canadian continence foundation. this includes both men and women of all ages, though it is more prevalent in women and older adults. the canadian urinary bladder survey found that a significant 33 per cent of women over 40 experience symptoms of ui. it often comes with postpartum health, menopause, and chronic conditions.
one of the problems is that healthcare providers don’t typically talk about it, so women don’t expect ui after having a baby, says glaab.
“we’re not having these conversations with our family doctors who could be telling us, whether you laboured naturally or had a c-section, it doesn’t matter. it’s the pressure of bearing a human,” she adds of the impact on bladder control. she’d like to see family doctors, obstetrician-gynecologists and midwives discuss ui with people so they would know what to expect and can work on strengthening pelvic floor muscles.
“we’re not having these conversations with our family doctors who could be telling us, whether you laboured naturally or had a c-section, it doesn’t matter. it’s the pressure of bearing a human,” she adds of the impact on bladder control. she’d like to see family doctors, obstetrician-gynecologists and midwives discuss ui with people so they would know what to expect and can work on strengthening pelvic floor muscles.
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women’s health is a key focus for bd canada with products around ui management, says glaab’s coworker gardner. the company also promotes awareness initiatives for health prevention. she had done some research on ms and the connection to ui and wanted to offer her support. “there’s so many things you can do in terms of prevention and from a physical exercise like a kegel or electrical stimulation that can help prevent it in the first place,” says gardner. “outside of ms, i think of all those of us who are mothers who have experienced things like that and may not know that they’re connected to a much broader kind of prevention.”
friendship and conversation breaks down taboos about urinary incontinence
knowledge is power. as glaab emphasizes, the friendship and support of other women make a difference.
“there’s so much inequity in women’s health as it is, that if we can rally around each other and support each other and empower ourselves to learn more than we can do better. i really believe that we have to trust the women in our lives. because if we’re not, then we’re just isolating ourselves. we’re suffering in silence.”
“there’s so much inequity in women’s health as it is, that if we can rally around each other and support each other and empower ourselves to learn more than we can do better. i really believe that we have to trust the women in our lives. because if we’re not, then we’re just isolating ourselves. we’re suffering in silence.”
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