“Don’t make me laugh, I”ll pee my pants!”, Is an expression heard amongst women?
If you’ve experienced pregnancy, surgeries, or menopause, you can probably relate to this.
Beyond Kegels states:
“Twenty-five to thirty percent of adults 25-55 years old has experienced bowel and bladder problems at some time of their life.”
This percentage increases by 10% in adults sixty-five or older and even children have nighttime wetting.
I’ve witnessed this myself with my child when we were transitioning pre-schools; fear and stress created constipation and led to bedwetting every single night for seven days.
“It’s just part of menopause; It’s part of getting old,” are other expressions we hear.
But is there any truth to it?
5 Steps to stop stress & urge incontinence
#1 Reduce Constipation
The pressure of constipation {and even excessive coughing} weakens the pelvic floor and decreases its ability to hold in urine. Try these tips to reduce constipation.
Increase your daily water consumption – up to 8 Glasses/day
Avoid coffee as much as you can (as they lead to dehydration)
Increase your fiber! Reach for 20-35g/day (i.e., fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans)
Reduce meat, cheese, and ice cream! These tend to cause constipation
Walk 30 minutes a day
Use the bathroom at the first urge to eliminate
Use the toilet at a consistent time every day
Try Hara massage; massage your abdominals in a clockwise direction
Add Flaxseed to your diet: Grind a cup of flaxseed and store in the refrigerator.
Take 1 tbs. of ground flaxseed and add to your food daily.
Add Psyllium Seeds – Bowel movement can occur 6-12 hours after consumption.
Soak prunes or other dried fruit in water or apple juice until softened
Add Fruits like apples, pears, apricots, and cherries
Add Molasses to your food! This is a gentle laxative and high in iron
#2 Engage & Stretch Your Pelvic Floor
Where is your pelvic floor? Watch the video below to learn more. But keep in mind…
Your pelvic floor can be tight and cause leaking
Your pelvic floor can be weak and cause leaking
or both!
So we want to learn how to stretch AND strengthen your pelvic floor. How? Watch this video 👇
#3 Practice Diaphragmatic Breathing
What is that?
Diaphragmatic breathing is a deeper breath that allows the abdominals to relax.
👉Think of breathing side by side like a bellow. Let your abs go!!!
This regulates the pressure in the abdominal cavity and releases tension and tightness in the pelvic floor.
Are you “gripping?”
Women say they feel tense or tight in their core and pelvic floor when they have incontinence. Diaphragmatic breathing releases this tension.
How do you practice this breathe?
1. Begin by sitting on a hard chair or bench and pull your “flesh away” so you feel your sitz bones.If you are on the floor sit high on blocks or a firm cushion.
2. Inhale-Envision the diaphragm moving downward, the abdomen contents are displaced outwards and the pelvic floor bulges
3. Practice 3 ways: put both hands on your ribs and breathe into your hands 3-4x, place hands on your belly and allow it to push into your hands 3-4x, and last place hands on your collarbone and feel your breathe rise above your heart.
#4 Reduce Your Stress
As your bladder fills up it sends nerve messages to the brain to tell it when to empty your bladder.
When we “go to the bathroom, just in case”, we are actually decreasing the size of urine our bladder can hold therefore making the problem worse.
By relaxing your nervous system, you can change the response your brain triggers when your bladder is full.
How do we relax our nervous system?
Meditate daily
Drink herbal teas
Add adaptogens to your diet
Exercises daily
Journal
#5 Try Homeopathy
Homeopathy is safe, gentle, and affordable and can be used with children and adults alike.
The key to homeopathy is finding the right remedy for your specific symptoms. The theory “like cures like” implies you are seeking the specific remedy for your unique symptoms.
Reducing constipation and using homeopathy helped my child during bedwetting. Read about the remedies here.
Do you love natural remedies?
5 Herbal Remedies For Stress Incontinence
Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra)- Sweet and soothing for your urinary tract. As this is known to increase your blood pressure, caution if you have high blood pressure.
Slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) or Marshmallow root- Known as a mucilaginous botanical, this soothes your digestion and urinary tract.
Are you constipated? These botanicals can reduce constipation
Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale)
Yellow dock root (Rumex crispus),
Senna Leaf and Pod (Cassia senna)- Use only after the first trimester of pregnancy and only for 1-2days.
Ready to learn more?
Join my FREE 5-Day Challenge
How to run, jump & cough without any leakage whatsoever – Create an exercise plan you love
Wondering how to heal mastitis without antibiotics?
Here are my tried and true natural remedies to stop the pain fast.
But, hold on.
Always check with your doctor before using natural remedies if you have allergies or other health concerns.
What is mastitis? Here are 5 signs to look for:
5 Signs of Mastitis
fever as high as 104
local redness, hard tender inflamed area
chills
achiness
exhaustion
***Fever is usually the key indicator here.
5 Herbal Treatment For Mastitis
If you are experiencing recurrent breast infections, you may want to be evaluated for adequate nutritional intake. Have your vitamin levels checked and don’t be afraid to increase them to reduce mastitis and possibly postpartum depression.
#1 Have your doctor check for vitamin deficiency:
Iron
Zinc
Protein
Vitamin c
Also, extreme exhaustion or sleep deprivation is so common.
#2 Along with good nutrition, consider adding an adaptogen to support your immune system during this stressful time.
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum)
These tinctures are considered safe adaptogens during breastfeeding
Milk ducts can become inflamed, tender, and distended creating a ‘plugged duct’, In mastitis, the plugged duct is accompanied by infection.
#3 My favorite homeopathic remedy for mastitis is Phytolacca
Personally, I liked to take homeopathic medicine when I had mastitis. Along with Echinacea, this helped resolve the inflammation within minutes. If you are having these symptoms, consider Phytolacca as a remedy. Click here to purchase.
Dosing: Take 2 tablets, wait 20 minutes, take another 2 and you should see improvement.
“For sore, cracked nipples, which hurt when the baby nurses. One of the most commonly used remedies for mastitis, especially where the pains radiate from the affected area and the breast is hard and lumpy. The patient may feel heavy with flu-like symptoms, or may have a breast abscess threatening.” ¹
Known as a Category 1, safe adaptogen during breastfeeding, Ashwagandha can help reduce stress and ease the anxiety that may be causing the inflammation during breastfeeding.
This will trigger the digestive system to produce digestive enzymes, secrete bile and balance HCI levels in the stomach.
Take bitters 10-15 minutes before your meal.
If you have a lot of nausea with meals or when you take supplements, you might also need some additional stomach acid in the form of a supplement called Betaine HCl, or try 1 Tbs. of apple cider vinegar in water with your meals. {click on links above to see the companies I love}
3. Reinoculate
Wait 2 weeks on the elimination diet or up to 6 weeks before adding in a probiotic.
Adding in a probiotic can give you gas and bloating if you do not remove the allergens first.
You want it to have a minimum of 5 billion CFU in each dose, and a good range of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria species.
Fermented foods such as miso, sauerkraut, and kimchee can also be a helpful advantage to your gut, add it into your diet 3-4x week. Although very delicious, kombucha can be high in sugar so consider using sparingly.
4. Repair
Include the following supplement for 6-weeks or more to repair your gut.
The following supplements can be taken for up to 6 months to help to heal the intestinal lining:
Tumeric- I personally like to take turmeric in a blended tincture like Adrena nourish
DGL licorice (aloe and licorice are not for internal use during pregnancy; these are fine for children) are some of the most effective herbs for healing the gut lining.
They are best taken in capsule or extract form, though turmeric can also be added to foods.
Do you get heartburn?
DGL or diglyceride licorice is a great alternative to tums and does not raise your blood pressure. DGL licorice is available as chewable lozenges and thus may be the simplest one to give to kids.
Fish oil is important for general health in pregnancy and breastfeeding, too.
L-Glutamine Powder:5-10 gm of powder twice daily for one month. (Much less for kids but talk with your child’s doctor before using and don’t supplement in pregnancy).
Conclusion
If you scored high on the gut health questionnaire, these herbal supplements will help you heal your gut and reduce unwanted digestive issues, along with healing anxiety. Elimination diets alone will not work unless you add in the gut-healing remedies.
Have questions? Send me an email or book a women’s health consultation.
This was the first shift I ever experienced. This meditation is included in her online membership or you can pay $4 for this transformation. Practice it daily when you want to complete a ‘necessary ending’, something that is not serving you.
#2 Manifesting Meditation
#3 Mary Kate is my go-to girl for removing any money blocks! We all have them. Clear your thoughts about money and step into the Present Momma you crave to be.
#4 Morning Meditation: Practice this daily for miracles
#5 Have you tried hypnosis? The Mindful movement meditations are amazing. These are my favorites.
#6 If you’re sleep-deprived and feeling tired and wired.. .try yoga Nidra before bed or if you get woken up and cannot fall asleep.
#7 Trauma from childbirth, from your childhood, from a relationship, can be causing your anxiety. Try this meditation daily.
Give yourself 30-days to try these meditations. Then take time to journal afterward.
One of the most unexpected outcomes of experiencing postpartum depression for me was the enjoyment of writing.
What if you could overcome postpartum depression by writing your deepest, most sacred thoughts?
Think about this for a moment…
Are you wanting to say or doing something that you are not currently doing?
Are you craving more support, more time, more nourishment?
What if it’s your thoughts holding you back?
But hang on…
I know it will take more than writing to overcome postpartum depression. But, I encourage you to explore these questions and see what it brings up for you.
What’s the magic formula?
Here are 13 writing prompts I’ve used over the years to overcome depression and anxiety.
So take out a pretty, girly notepad and begin writing.
#1 Write your birth story
Write it in complete detail. All that you loved, all that you hated and all that you are thankful for.
👉Action step: Share your story online. Other momma’s need to hear what you’ve been through.
#2 Start with the end in mind
What is it that you want to do with this one and only life you have? Are you doing it? What is holding you back? Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a circle. Write where you want to be when you are 80 years old. Then write down the steps to get there.
👉Action step: Take one step today to fulfill your life dream. Even if it’s small. Begin today.
#3 What’s important to you?
Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. List 10 things that make you happy on the left side of the paper. Then list 10 things you’ll say a “no thank you” to on the right side of the paper.
#4 How can you fill your cup up?
You cannot take care of everyone else if you are depleted. How can you fill your cup up today? It doesn’t have to cost money or take a lot of time. Here are some things I do.
10-minute Youtube meditations
Baths with magnesium salt and essential oils
Write a gratitude list – who are you thankful for?
Get my nails done
Go for a hike
Exercise
Make a cup of stinging nettle tea 🍵
Fear is love waiting to exhale…
#5 What are you afraid of doing?
One of my biggest fears was closing my Pilates studio. What would people think? Where would they go? I was more worried about my clients than I was about my own mental health.
👉Action step: So, I ask you.. what are you afraid of doing? Write it down.
#6 Complete these sentences…
My favorite place to sit as a child…
If I wasn’t this old I would…
If I had more time I would…
If I wasn’t afraid I would..
My favorite childhood game was…
If I didn’t sound crazy, I would..
#7 When were you happy?
Write about a time when you were very happy. Where were you? Who were you with? What were you doing?
#8 What was the most traumatic event in your life?
Write about any trauma in your life.
Then.. write it again as though it was a good thing. As though, you learned something from it or it made you the person you are today.
When you laugh, the world laughs with you, but when you cry, you cry alone. – A happy pocketful of money
#9 Your thoughts
Decide right now to face everything anew. Your thoughts, become your words and they become your actions. What negative thoughts are you saying to yourself? Write them down. Gently, gradually release them.
👉 Action step: Turn those thoughts into a positive word.
What comes out of your mouth, comes into your life. – You are a badass at making money.
#10 What do you really want?
If money wasn’t an issue. If your life was different. What would you really want? What are you craving? Write these down…
The perfect partner
The perfect health
Your goals in life
Your education
How much money do you want to make
What kind of relationships do you want
#11 What are you grateful for?
Have you ever noticed how much love you have around you? How blessed you are?
👉Action step: Write down 5 things you are grateful for today.
#12 How do you play?
Have you noticed as we get older, we stop playing? We start “adulting”? What can you do today to be more playful? To have more fun?
#13 Fall in love with yourself…
What are you holding against yourself? What do you say about your body every day?
👉Action step: Write down 20 things you love about yourself. Don’t hold back. List them. Love them. Repeat them often. 💕
The first step is the hardest.
Make a cup of tea. Light a candle and take out your notebook and start writing.
You’re frustrated and distracted by your anxiety attacks.
Wouldn’t it be great..
If you didn’t have to worry your anxiety would get worse?
If you didn’t have to worry, that your children would get this?
if you didn’t have anxiety before your period, each and every month?
Picture this.
Knowing exactly how to soothe your anxiety and so you can manage it every day. So you can sleep better and not worry so much.
Let me show you how I’ve overcome anxiety with natural remedies.
But hang on… don’t forget to always check with your doctor before adding any new supplements to your diet. And if you’re taking medications, book a health consultation to double-check there are no herb-drug interactions.
Approximately 6% of pregnant women and 10% of postpartum women develop anxiety. Sometimes they experience anxiety alone, and sometimes they experience it in addition to depression.
Want to get started?
In this post, I’ll share how you can overcome postpartum anxiety with natural remedies.
What does postpartum anxiety feel like
Postpartum anxiety feels like a cloud hanging over your head. There are waves of irritation and you may have a panic attack once in a while, due to this anxiety.
More commonly, moms may say they have …
constant worry about their children or others
they need to move or work and keep busy
they may get sick more often
they also have PMS and #pmsrage
they’re not mentally there and crave to be more present with their family
Why does postpartum anxiety happen
There could be many reasons postpartum anxiety happens. As a women’s herbal educator, I help moms identify why this is happening and how to fix it.
Here are some of the reasons postpartum anxiety happens:
Low vitamins; particularly Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Iron, Vitamin B12 & DHA
Lack of sleep
Inflammation in your gut; specifically gut dysbiosis ² Gut-brain axis
Your hormones. Are you in peri-menopause or have too much estrogen in your diet?
Your thyroid is off – hypo or hyperthyroid
Your nervous system is overreacting due to stress
Your body is not healed postpartum
Post-traumatic stress; unresolved anger from past events
You don’t need anxiety medications, you need to heal your gut
5 Steps to reduce postpartum anxiety
#1 Identify your triggers
Often alcohol, caffeine, and sometimes foods {gluten & dairy} can trigger a panic attack. We all know you don’t sleep well even with just one glass of wine! Write down when you get anxiety and what happen the night before.
Connect with nature again. Raising little people often gets us stuck inside for long periods of time. Raising twins, I rarely left the house for the first two years. I was too busy cooking, cleaning, working and caring for them. Commit to taking a walk or asking someone to watch your little one so you can get outside – even if it’s winter.
#3 Have your vitamin levels checked
Women are often very depleted during the postpartum time period. Birth is one of the biggest events of your life, yet there is so little attention paid to mom after childbirth. It’s insane!
Have your doctor check:
your thyroid
Vitamins D, B12, iron & DHA
consider testing for food sensitivities
#4 Integrate botanicals
Adaptogens and nervines can help soothe your anxiety.
Consider integrating:
Ashwagandha tincture for a daily
Motherwort tincture for acute panic attacks
Chamomile tea to ease evening anxiety
Lemon Balm tea, combined with Chamomile & Milky oat tops for a yummy evening tea
Milky oat tops tea
Stinging nettles tea
Passionflower tincture
Kava Kave tincture for acute panic attacks
St. Johns Wort tincture for depression & anxiety {caution use with SSRI’s}
Have you ever wondered if you have anxiety because you are suppressing something? That you want to say something or do something, you’re not doing?
👉Action step: Write it down. Write down your hopes, your dreams, your anger and then let it go.
Conclusion
You can overcome postpartum anxiety when you tap into the root cause. Vitamin levels, stress, gut health, and meditation can have a profound effect on your health.
What has worked for you? I’d love to know. Comment below.
