Stress Incontinence

Stress incontinence causes urine to leak when something puts pressure on your bladder (the organ in the urinary system that holds pee). You may release small amounts of urine when you cough, sneeze or laugh. Physical exertion like jumping, running or lifting a heavy object can also cause you to pee.

How common is stress incontinence?

Stress incontinence is the most common type of urinary incontinence. It most often affects the urinary system in people assigned female at birth (AFAB). As many as 1 in 3 people who were AFAB will experience stress urinary incontinence at some point. It’s less common for the condition to affect men, but it does happen.

What are the types of urinary incontinence?

More than half of people with stress incontinence also have urge incontinence. Having both stress and urge incontinence is known as mixed incontinence. An overactive bladder causes urge incontinence. This type of urinary incontinence causes you to leak urine when you feel an urgent need to pee.

Overflow incontinence is a different type of urinary incontinence. It causes you to leak urine because your bladder is too full or you can’t completely empty it.