3 weeks postpartum, bladder issues

I am currently 3 weeks postpartum and a few days ago I started to have increased frequency of urination.  I feel the urge to have to go to the bathroom frequently but feel that I cannot empty my bladder completely when I do so.  A few minutes later I feel like I have to go to the bathroom again.  It only bothers me when I am standing and walking around, not when I am sitting or lying down.  I had a urine culture done and the results were normal.
Is this normal to happen 3 weeks postpartum?  If so, approximately how long should these symptoms last for and what can I do to improve them?

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
If you were my patient, I would check to see if you are retaining urine.  This can be done with an ultrasound or with a catheter.  The patient is asked to void their bladder, and then the bladder is visualized on ultrasound--there should be less than 200cc of urine.  It is fairly common for women to retain urine postpartum.

Another possibility that is even MORE likely is that you may have had a reaction to a catheter.  I don't know whether you had your bladder catheterized during delivery, of course, but many women do.  The catheter can cause some inflammation of the urethra that can cause symptoms like you are having.  This can take awhile to go away, but usually gets better within a few days--weeks.

By the way,
congratulations on your baby!

Dr B

[decmamma]

I have a retroverted uterus (Backward facing)- right after I had my baby I had frequent urination and a pinching feeling in my lower pelvis. It bothered me more when I would move or walk. After 10-12 weeks it was gone completely (once uterus was totally back down in size). My urine samples came back fine but I was treated for a bladder Infection. Oh and I had a c-section.