Post-childbirth incontinence treatment

Childbirth can significantly impact your vaginal and pelvic health and in the busy, often overwhelming postpartum period it’s easy to overlook these changes. Whether you had a vaginal birth or a C-section, it’s common to notice vaginal laxity (where the vaginal walls lose tone and strength), and you might even experience urinary incontinence (involuntary urine leaks). If you’ve had a vaginal delivery, this might have placed a lot of pressure on your pelvic muscles and tissues, which can stretch and weaken as a result. Even if your baby was born via C-section, carrying extra weight during pregnancy can still affect your pelvic muscles, leading to similar issues.

Radiofrequency treatment is a non-surgical, state-of-the-art procedure that aims to help rejuvenate and tighten your vaginal and vulvar tissues. During the treatment, we use a wand that emits alternating pulses of heat and cooling energy to your vaginal walls and vulva, which helps restore strength and elasticity to the tissue.

It’s a suitable option for many women who are dealing with vaginal laxity, urinary incontinence, and mild prolapse due to childbirth.

One of the key benefits of radiofrequency treatment is that it reaches deeper tissue layers compared to laser treatments. This makes it excellent for addressing issues related to childbirth, without the invasiveness of surgery.

• Stress incontinence: This occurs when physical activities like coughing, sneezing, or exercising create pressure on your bladder, leading to urine leakage. By strengthening the vaginal walls, radiofrequency can help provide better bladder support and reduce leaks, and is increasingly recommended by experts as an effective post-childbirth incontinence treatment. 
• Urge incontinence: If you often experience a sudden and urgent need to urinate, radiofrequency treatment may help by soothing the overly sensitive bladder nerves that cause these symptoms.
• Vaginal Laxity: After having a baby, especially vaginally, tissue can lose its firmness, which may reduce sensation during sex and contribute to incontinence. Radiofrequency can stimulate collagen production, often helping to restore elasticity and tighten the vaginal and vulvar tissues.
• Mild Pelvic Prolapse: Carrying a pregnancy to term, then delivering your baby, can put undue pressure on your pelvic region and can cause muscles and tissues that support your pelvic organs to weaken. This can lead to discomfort and issues like incontinence. For many patients, radiofrequency treatment can help to strengthen these supportive tissues, and reduce the symptoms of mild prolapse.

Vaginal laxity can weaken the support your vaginal walls provide to your bladder, leading to urine leakage. It can also reduce sensation, impacting both confidence and sexual satisfaction.

Radiofrequency treatment offers a non-surgical solution to these issues by encouraging collagen production, which can help strengthen and restore the structure of the vaginal walls. It’s a safe and effective alternative to surgery, and many patients have found it improves bladder control, sensation during sex, and boosts overall wellbeing.

Most patients describe radiofrequency treatment as a mild, warm sensation. It’s non-invasive, so there’s no need for anaesthesia, and there’s minimal discomfort during the procedure. There’s also no need for any recovery time, which makes it convenient for busy new mothers.

Many women will notice improvements after their first session, but a series of three treatments, spaced about 1-2 weeks apart, will usually give you the optimum results. Many women opt for a maintenance treatment every six months, but we’ll discuss your individual needs during your consultation, and develop a customised treatment plan.

At our clinic we like to ensure that we offer treatment packages that are affordable and accessible. Your initial consultation will be carried out by a Consultant Gynaecologist, with plenty of time to discuss your symptoms, and treatments are then carried out by an experienced nurse who is part of the women’s health team. 

After your initial consultation with a Consultant Gynaecologist, your first radiofrequency treatment can begin. We’ll make sure you’re comfortable, before inserting a slim probe into your vagina to treat your vagina and vulva with the healing, heating pulses of radiofrequency. 

We would recommend that you have your first treatment at around six weeks after giving birth. By addressing pelvic health issues early, it’s more likely that you can effectively treat concerns like vaginal laxity and urinary incontinence without the situation worsening. It’s good to know that there’s no surgery involved or downtime required, meaning you can go about your daily life immediately after a treatment.