Frequent urination is often considered as a sign of pregnancy. Know what are the causes of frequent urination in early pregnancy, in this article.
Women who desperately want to get pregnant often look out for various signs and symptoms of pregnancy. Frequent urination is one such sign which is commonly associated with pregnancy. However, one must note that it is not a solid proof of a pregnancy. A missed period and a positive pregnancy test are the only sure shot signs of pregnancy. If you have already missed your period and experience frequent urination amongst other pregnancy symptoms, then you can sure keep your hopes high for a possible conception.
Causes of Frequent Urination in Early Pregnancy
Pregnancy is characterized by a surge in female hormones estrogen and progesterone. These two hormones literally play havoc with your body functions. Pregnancy triggers increase in blood volume in the body. This blood is then processed by the kidneys and the waste is passed to the bladder. Thus, the volume of urine produced by the body also increases. This results in an urge to urinate frequently. Frequent urination in early pregnancy can be largely attributed to the increase in fluids due to hormonal activity. You may observe that frequency increases further at night. This is because, the fluid that you retain in your legs and feet during the day, enters bloodstream when you lie down. This is again transferred to the kidneys and then to the bladder.
Increased frequency of urination is also common during the last trimester. However, the cause of frequent urination during final trimester is different from that during first trimester. In the last trimester, the baby grows to a considerable size, which causes the internal organs of the mother to squeeze, so as to make space for the growing uterus. This exerts a lot of pressure on the bladder, thereby triggering the need to urinate often. Around this time, the woman may also experience stress incontinence. Droplets of urine may involuntarily pass during coughing, sneezing etc.
Some medical practitioners believe that frequent urination is a problem only in first and last trimester. They cite that the problem subsides once the woman moves into her second trimester and returns only during the final weeks of gestation. However, according to the survey, in which number of times a study group of pregnant women visited bathroom was actually counted and the amount of urine passed in a day was measured, it was found that the situation rarely improved in the second trimester. Nevertheless, you can be assured that this problem truly subsides when your baby is born. Although, you may still find no improvement in first few days postpartum, as your body tries to empty all the fluid that it retained during pregnancy.
Ways to Cope with Frequent Urination Problem
Although, you have no option but to accept this side effect of pregnancy, you can certainly try some measures to keep the discomfort to bare minimum. One must note that cutting down your intake of water is not the solution to this problem. Remember, during pregnancy your body needs to be well hydrated all the time, hence you cannot afford to reduce your water intake. However, you can certainly cut down your intake of diuretic beverages such as tea, coffee, soda etc. If getting up at night to urinate is particularly troublesome for you, you can try drinking more water during the day and eventually cut down your intake in the hours before you go to bed. Problem of stress incontinence can be solved by wearing mini pads.
Thus, frequent urination is pretty common during early pregnancy. However, if you experience problems such as pain, burning while urinating, then you should consult your doctor immediately as it could be an indication of underlying problem.
