The effects that pregnancy and childbirth can have on the body are varied and can have a huge impact on your life, both while you’re pregnant and after you’ve given birth. These changes range from weight gain and changes to your body shape, to psychological differences and changes in the thyroid, skin and hair. For example, different areas of the brain actually grow and shrink during pregnancy and childbirth, and many women find they have skin breakouts after giving birth because of the dramatic changes in hormone levels! Pregnancy and childbirth affect everyone differently, but the vast majority of women will experience incontinence or urinary leakage to some degree during pregnancy or after childbirth.
During pregnancy, the weight of the baby pressing on the bladder can actually disrupt the way your bladder and pelvic floor muscles (which are the muscles responsible for holding and controlling the uterus and urethra) usually work, leading to symptoms of stress incontinence. Vaginal birth can also affect the pelvic floor muscles, due to the strain it puts on the pelvic floor. Vaginal birth can weaken these muscles, making difficulty holding your bladder or some level of leakage much more likely. You’re not alone though, as an estimated half of women experience changes in continence after childbirth.
Pregnancy and childbirth can also cause damage to the nerves controlling the bladder or displacement of the bladder and urethra, and having an episiotomy during labour can also contribute to incontinence and leakage among postnatal women.
Postnatal stress incontinence is very common, and is caused by the stress put on the pelvic floor during childbirth. While normally, the pelvic floor muscles wrap tightly around the urethra , and only relax when we consciously decide to, after childbirth, they (understandably!) become stretched and looser. This means that when stress or pressure is put on the bladder, for example, when you sneeze, cough, laugh or lift heavy objects, there isn’t a barrier to prevent any little accidents.
For most women with normal births, there is a certain degree of leakage that is expected, but normal continence should be regained after a few months. Factors increasing the likelihood of women developing severe postnatal stress incontinence, include having several babies vaginally, a long or problematic birth, obesity, smoking, the birth of heavier babies and giving birth over the age of 35.
Pelvic floor exercises such as Kegels are often recommended to women suffering from stress incontinence or difficulty regaining control of their bladder after having a baby, but they can be time consuming and the process of strengthening the pelvic floor with these exercises is long. We also find that many of our patients cannot feel their pelvic floor muscles in order to contract them so cannot carry out kegel exercises at all.
BTL Emsella is a revolutionary new treatment designed to quickly, easily and painlessly eradicate little accidents and the symptoms of postnatal incontinence. It targets the pelvic floor muscles with High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic (HIFEM) technology, stimulating the muscles to tighten the pelvic floor and give you back control of your bladder.
During the BTL Emsella treatment, electromagnetic currents help to stimulate the pelvic floor muscles past a level that can be consciously achieved through Kegel or other pelvic floor exercises. Because the treatment stimulates the muscles directly, the contractions achieved are stronger, and your pelvic floor muscles get much more of a workout! During treatment, the muscles contract to a supramaximal level – the equivalent of over 11,000 Kegel exercises in one treatment – making it far more effective than many other methods to help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.
With traditional Kegel exercises, the muscles are tensed and released to help strengthen them. With BTL Emsella, not only is there this tension and release of the pelvic floor muscles, but the structure of the muscles also changes! The treatment stimulates the growth of new protein strands and muscle fibres as well, which not only improves the physical action of the muscles, but also assists in regaining neuromuscular control of the pelvic floor, giving you more control over your muscles and helping to stop any leaks or dribbles!
The BTL Emsella is FDA approved, and offers a non-surgical, un-intrusive and relaxing alternative to many other incontinence treatments. BTL Emsella requires no recovery or downtime, and can be carried out without you having to get undressed! The treatments take just under half an hour per session, and consist of ten sessions over four weeks to see the best results. However, some results can be felt after the first or second treatment.
If you have been struggling with postnatal incontinence or difficulty controlling your bladder after childbirth, and think that BTL Emsella may be the right treatment for you, contact Estrada Clinic on 07701024293. You can call, email or message us!
If you think that BTL Emsella may be right for you, contact Estrada Clinic on 07701024293, and see how we can help improve your pelvic health or Get in Touch in the form below.
The results of BTL Emsella treatment can be seen as soon as after the first treatment in some women. However, we recommend a minimum course length of ten weekly treatments (preferably two sessions per week) to see optimum results from the treatment, and most people see and feel some results after two or three treatment sessions.
The procedure is not at all painful, and many people bring along friends or family to chat to during treatment. You may also want to bring a book or magazine to read while on the Emsella chair or we can always have a good conversation or two!
Some women feel the tensing and relaxing of the pelvic floor muscles during treatment, but this has been described as a very similar sensation to regular kegel exercises, and isn't uncomfortable.
A single BTL Emsella treatment takes less than half an hour - 28 minutes to be precise!
While some women will feel results after the first treatment, a minimum of 8-10 weekly or bi-weekly sessions is appropriate to feel the optimum results of BTL Emsella. We'll tailor your treatment plan to you and your body to create the most effective results but we offer more treatment sessions than any other clinic for your money. This is because, being the longest standing Emsella clinic in the Northwest, we have over five years experience of women and men's incontinence issues and know that six treatment sessions is not enough for the majority of people. Please keep this in mind when looking for the best clinic for you.
If you are struggling with stress incontinence, BTL Emsella might be the perfect treatment for you.
BTL Emsella can improve the symptoms of stress incontinence caused by menopause or childbirth, as well as other intimate health conditions, including vaginal laxity and difficulty reaching orgasm.
However, if you are pregnant, have a pacemaker, have metal plates in your body, such as hip replacements or if you have a copper coil or IUD, then BTL Emsella is not suitable for you, and we can help give you the information you need to choose a different treatment in these cases. You should also remove any intimate piercings before treatment with BTL Emsella, and you cannot use Emsella when on your period as the treatment increases blood flow to the area!