Urinary incontinence affects 1 in 5 Indian women; most never seek help
Three main types: stress, urgency, and mixed incontinence
Help-seeking delay: up to a year in clinical practice; 4 to 6 years in published studies
First-line treatment: pelvic floor muscle training — not surgery
Surgery considered only after 6 months of failed rehabilitation
World Continence Week 2026: 15 to 21 June
One in five Indian women experiences urinary incontinence, yet many suffer silently for years without seeking medical help. As World Continence Week 2026 begins, specialists are urging women to recognise bladder leakage as a treatable condition rather than an inevitable part of ageing or childbirth.
World Continence Week, 2026, observed from 15 to 21 June, aims to raise awareness about continence problems and encourage timely conversations around diagnosis and treatment. The observance has also renewed conversations in India about improving awareness and access to treatment.
Urinary incontinence (UI) is the involuntary leakage of urine. The prevalence rate in India is reported to be between 10 and 45% depending on the population and definitions used. Hospital based cross sectional survey conducted among 3,000 Indian women revealed that 21.8% women suffered from UI, with stress incontinence contributing almost 3 quarters of total UI cases. In a community based study published in Indian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Research in May 2026, prevalence rates among reproductive age group of women was 12.5%, whereas among women aged above 50 years, it was 32.1%. More importantly, while nearly half the women with UI wanted treatment, only half of those had ever actually sought help.
In clinical practice, the picture is even more striking. Dr. Keerthana Ashwin observes that in her gynecology OPD, only about one in 50 women volunteers a bladder leakage complaint without being asked directly. The rest either do not mention it, do not consider it a medical problem, or have simply adapted around it. "Women wait up to a year before bringing this up," she notes. "The barrier is not availability of care. It is the belief that this is normal."
This is mainly due to stigma. As stated in the clinical analysis published in Urology Times 2025, the psychological aspect of stigma was explained perfectly: unlike guilt, which is associated with an action, shame is linked to the identity of an individual. While guilt means "I have done something bad," shame means "I am bad." While guilt may drive a patient to look for treatment, shame drives them to keep silent, withdraw from society and shy away from seeking medical care.
The impact of this is evident in the fact that the woman limits her movement, drinks less fluids, exercises little, withdraws socially, and hides the problem using sanitary pads, all of which worsen quality of life and delay effective treatment.
Also see: Six Everyday Habits That Could Be Sabotaging Your Bladder Health
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the most common type in Indian women. Urine leaks with sudden rises in abdominal pressure: coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting, or exercise. The underlying cause is weakness in the pelvic floor muscles or urethral sphincter, most commonly following vaginal delivery, multiple pregnancies, or the hormonal changes of menopause.
Urgency urinary incontinence involves a sudden, intense urge to pass urine followed by involuntary leakage before reaching the toilet. In urgency urinary incontinence, involuntary bladder contractions trigger a sudden urge to urinate, often leading to leakage before reaching the toilet. It is more common in older women, those with diabetes, and those with a history of recurrent urinary tract infections.
Mixed incontinence combines both patterns and accounts for approximately 17 percent of cases in Indian women.
Yes, according to the scientific research available on the topic, particularly when treatment begins early. A randomised clinical trial involving multiple centres, published in the JAMA Network Open journal in April 2026 has revealed that pelvic floor training greatly decreases the incidence rate of stress incontinence in women at six weeks post-delivery time. As pointed out by those researchers, effective rehabilitation includes not only Kegel exercise but also core strengthening and posture stabilisation.
The barrier is not availability of care. It is the belief that this is normal.
Dr. Keerthana Ashwin, MS (Obstetrics and Gynecology), FMAS, Fellowship in Cosmetic Gynecology, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dhiya Fertility and Maternity Center, Chennai
It should be mentioned that pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is an alternative term for Kegel exercise if done in a correct manner and regularly. In this case, the success rate reaches 29 to 59 percent improvement rate and up to 70 percent curing of stress incontinence among women. It is crucial to mention that one has to perform the exercises correctly, and in many cases, their technique is not verified. A pelvic floor physiotherapist will increase effectiveness using biofeedback technology.
In case of urge incontinence, bladder training with the aim of delayed voiding can help considerably. Moreover, lifestyle changes, including losing extra weight and eliminating such products as coffee and alcohol, may prove helpful.
Surgery is not the starting point; it is the last resort. Dr. Keerthana Ashwin explains, "surgery is recommended only when pelvic rehabilitation has been tried consistently for six months and has not produced adequate improvement." Midurethral sling procedures, including tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) and transobturator tape (TOT), are the standard surgical options for stress incontinence and are performed by gynaecologists in both public and private hospitals across India. Access in smaller cities and public tertiary centres varies.
Pharmacological options, including antimuscarinics and the beta-3 agonist mirabegron for urgency incontinence, and topical vaginal oestrogen for post-menopausal women, are appropriate intermediate steps when conservative management is insufficient. All medications require a physician's prescription and monitoring.
See a doctor without delay if you experience any of the following:
Sudden onset of bladder leakage with no prior history
Blood in the urine at any point
New leakage after pelvic surgery or radiotherapy
Bladder symptoms alongside leg weakness, back pain, or numbness
Inability to empty the bladder fully
Leakage with pelvic pain or a dragging sensation in the lower abdomen
Rapid worsening of existing incontinence
Women with diabetes, kidney disease, cardiovascular conditions, or those who are pregnant should consult their treating physician before starting any bladder training programme or medication.
The May 2026 Kerala study concluded that awareness of UI treatment options remains limited and called for opportunistic screening of women of all ages, including in non-gynecology outpatient settings. A 2024 North India study confirmed that asking women presenting for any reason whether they experience bladder leakage takes under a minute and identifies substantial numbers who would never have raised it themselves.
Integrating pelvic floor education into routine antenatal and postnatal care, training community health workers on appropriate referral, and normalising the conversation in OPD settings are practical, low-cost steps that do not require new infrastructure.
Let’s remember that more than 400 million people worldwide live with incontinence. In India, the majority of them are women, and the majority of those women have never told a doctor.
World Continence Week 2026 cannot change that number in seven days, but a single conversation, in a single OPD, on any one of those days, can change it for one person.
Varghese SM, Nair JS, Muricken RG, Pillai JK, Benjamin AI, Chandy GM. Urinary incontinence among women in Kerala: Prevalence, perceptions and practices. Indian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Research. 2026;13(2):234-240. https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijogr.10053.1773232569
Gao L, Zhu H, Sun X, et al. Pelvic floor workout for preventing stress urinary incontinence in primiparous women: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open. 2026;9(4):e267132. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.7132
Dumoulin C, Cacciari LP, Hay-Smith EJC. Pelvic floor muscle training versus no treatment, or inactive control treatments, for urinary incontinence in women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2018;(10):CD005654. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD005654.pub4
World Federation of Incontinence and Pelvic Problems. World Continence Week 2026: 15-21 June 2026. https://wfipp.org/
