During pregnancy a woman’s body goes through some incredible physical and hormonal changes, and those changes sometimes bring unwelcome side-effects such as discomfort, leg cramps and even bed wetting tendencies.

When a woman is pregnancy her nutritional needs change as the baby changes. Her body is no longer just trying to help an adult woman function, but also grow a new baby inside of her. While some pregnant women have very few sleep issues, others are plagued by them. While each woman is different, there are some general similarities in the discomfort women face from one trimester to the next.

As the baby grows the placenta (where the baby is formed) begins to enlarge and actually push against the other internal organs in a woman’s body. Most women experience the need to urinate much more frequently, even during the night, initially in the first trimester. Needing to urinate two or three times a night is not uncommon and because sleep may initially be uncomfortable with a growing body, a woman may be more awake and aware of a need to urinate than she might otherwise be if she were sleeping soundly. Many women change their dietary habits and vitamin intake when they are pregnant and while these changes provide the woman and baby with vitally needed nutrients, there may be some side effects as well.

In the second trimester most women experience some relief from the need to urinate frequently as the baby adjusts and shifts position in the women’s body. Many women report that the second trimester is a more comfortable time of pregnancy than the first and third trimesters.

By the time a woman is in the third trimester the baby is now large enough to be pushing against the woman’s bladder, which can lead to increased urination and even nocturnal enuresis in some cases. Pregnancy brings a lot of stress and other health issues to a woman’s body that could also be contributing to wetting the bed unexpected, including some pelvic issues, possible sleep apnea, certain medications (though they should be limited), increased bladder infections and obviously the stress of having a baby.

Regular visits to an obstetrician should help minimize some of the bed wetting issues, but talking frankly with your doctor about any and all issues during pregnancy is a good idea. Not all pregnant women wet the bed and sometimes the pregnancy may not be the cause of the nocturnal enuresis. A simple bladder infection can cause all sorts of urination issues in women as well.

To avoid wetting the bed when you’re pregnant you’ll want to do all the things you might normally do if you weren’t pregnant: limit fluid intake several hours before sleep, try to get as comfortable as possible, perhaps use a bed wetting alarm. When you learn that you are pregnant you will probably also want to use water resistant mattress pad to protect your mattress in case you have any bed wetting incidents or your water breaks while you are asleep.

Congratulations and good luck!