Urogynecologists perform sophisticated bladder testing procedures as well as state of the art surgical and non-surgical interventions to address problems. Incontinence, Dr. LaSala explained, is not a disease or an illness. The most common type of urinary incontinence is stress incontinence which is caused by damage to vaginal nerves and muscles. Vaginal childbirth can cause this type of damage. Women with stress incontinence tend to experience a lack of control when they laugh, sneeze or cough.
Urge incontinence is described as sudden onsets of urgency without control to hold the urine back.
Overflow incontinence occurs when the bladder cannot fully empty itself and women experience involuntary spilling of urine. About 30 percent of women who have had vaginal childbirth experience some form of incontinence. Factors including smoking, obesity and high caffeine intake increase a woman's chance of becoming incontinent. To ensure proper treatment for incontinence, women need to communicate with their doctors and ask for help. Communication is always a two-way street.