Changes in the body during pregnancy can cause pregnant women to feel certain complaints. One of them is frequent urination during pregnancy. However, is this complaint a normal thing to happen? Come on, Pregnant women, find out the answer in this article.
Urinating or urinating is one of the body's natural processes to get rid of toxins, waste substances or metabolic waste, and excess fluids from the body. Usually a person can urinate 6-8 times a day.
However, pregnant women may feel the urge to urinate more often. It is not uncommon for some pregnant women to urinate up to 10 times a day. This complaint can also usually appear at certain times, for example at night, thus disturbing the rest time of pregnant women.
So, Is Frequent Urination During Pregnancy Normal?
Complaints of frequent urination during pregnancy is a common thing experienced by pregnant women, especially when the gestational age enters the third trimester. These complaints are usually caused by hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy.
Changes in pregnancy hormones make pregnant women's body produce more blood. This makes the kidneys will filter more blood and increase urine production. This increased amount of urine makes the bladder full faster and stimulates pregnant women to urinate frequently.
In addition, as the fetus grows and the gestational age increases, the uterus which is initially the size of a fist will gradually enlarge. The increasing size of the uterus will put pressure on the bladder, thus making pregnant women feel the urge to urinate frequently.
What are the Causes of Frequent Urination?
The frequency of urination during pregnancy can fluctuate, depending on the gestational age. The following are some possible causes for frequent urination during pregnancy in each trimester:
First trimester
Urinating more often is usually one of the early symptoms of pregnancy. This condition occurs due to an increase in the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is one of the pregnancy hormones that can make urine production increase accompanied by an increase in the size of the uterus.
Second trimester
In the second trimester of pregnancy, the frequency of urination pregnant women may decrease and not as much as in the first trimester. This is due to changes in the size and location of the uterus away from the bladder.
However, some pregnant women may still feel frequent urination in the second trimester of pregnancy. This could be due to anxiety or stress during pregnancy.
Third trimester
In the last trimester of pregnancy, the urge to urinate often will appear again and can even be worse to disrupt the pregnant woman's sleep time. This is because the size of the fetus is getting bigger and its position is below the pelvis, thus putting more pressure on the bladder.
Can Frequent Urination During Pregnancy Be Avoided?
To relieve or prevent complaints of frequent urination, pregnant women can do the following tips:
Stop drinking water before bed
If pregnant women feel disturbed due to having to frequently wake up and urinate at night, pregnant women can reduce fluid consumption or stop drinking water within 1 or 2 hours before going to bed.
However, make sure during the day, water intake of 8-12 glasses a day is met. The goal is of course so that pregnant women avoid the risk of dehydration during pregnancy.
Avoid consumption of caffeinated drinks
In addition, pregnant women also need to reduce drinking tea, coffee, soda, and other drinks that contain caffeine. The reason is, caffeine can stimulate the body to urinate more often.
Do Kegel Exercises
In addition to frequent urge to urinate, pregnant women may find it difficult to hold their pee when they enter the final trimester of pregnancy. To overcome these complaints, pregnant women can try Kegel exercises.
In addition, pregnant women are also advised not to hold their pee too often. This is because the habit of holding pee can make pregnant women's pelvic floor muscles weaker, making it difficult to hold pee.
Reduce stress
As previously mentioned, stress is one of the causes of frequent urination. If pregnant women often feel anxious or stressed during pregnancy, try to do relaxation or light exercise, such as yoga for pregnant women, to deal with stress.
The urge to urinate frequently during pregnancy is normal and usually goes away after delivery.
However, in certain cases, complaints of frequent urination can also be caused by a urinary tract infection. This condition is prone to occur in pregnant women who often hold back urination.
It's just that, unlike normal frequent urination, urinary tract infections will usually cause complaints of frequent urination accompanied by other symptoms such as pain when urinating or anyang-anyangan, urine looks cloudy, there is blood in the urine, fever, and foul-smelling urine.
Therefore, if pregnant women experience complaints of frequent annoying urination or are accompanied by other symptoms, you should immediately consult a gynecologist to determine whether frequent urination is normal or not.