Squat toilets

Body: 

Thinking of getting a platform to convert our loo into one you can squat on. Is this a good idea? Whenever I feel constipated I get into a squat position and it seems to really help. Long term, would this complement the posture? Knees are higher than pelvis in a squat is this okay? Cheers Highland_moo_mama

this comes up every now and then here
I tried the squat on the toilet thing, and felt horrible perineal pressure. my brain screamed 'not safe!' and so I stopped. I get the full squat for elimination thing, but it puts a prolapsed bladder in a less than optimally protected position.
I would avoid it.
but if it works for you, it works for you.

I squat to go, but I just use a stainless bowl and squat on the floor of the bathroom. If you line the bowl with a small amount of toilet paper and a little water, then you can just pour the contents into the toilet when you are done. A little squirt of disinfectant, and a rinse with hot water cleans the bowl which then gets stored in my bathroom closet. Very easy to take along on trips as well.

Hi, I have a very, very mild bladder prolapse, and some bladder stress incontinence caused by unnecessarily prolonged interventions during a hospital birth 6 years ago. I have recently started squatting to eliminate to see if this helps with my bladder control during stress (coughing, running, etc). (My husband started doing this several years ago to treat haemarrhoids and it was cured within 24 hours.)

There's a fair bit written here about the bowels, but does anyone know if squatting can help restore muscular control for the bladder?

Thank you

I can remember having this problem when my kids were young, but since my prolapses got worse I have very little problem with stress incontinence because I have a kinked urethra which gives me another stop valve!

Have you tried pelvic floor exercises? That will get your pelvic floor muscles working more smoothly so they will respond better to your signals to hold on. When I am conscious that I might lose some urine I tend to squeeze my buttocks together and pull my pelvic floor up and in. However I have found that it is more useful to stretch up into WW posture and bend forward slightly from the hip joints with a relaxed belly and lumbar curve in place. This moves my pelvic organs forward and away from the top of my vagina, and stretches my pelvic floor tighter. I can also Kegel at the time of the cough or sneezed. This works better for me..

To tuck your butt under puts your bladder right in the path of intraabdominal forces generated by the diaphragm, during the sneeze or cough. This will push down on the bladder and make it lose urine. Try out different ways of doing it, but only when you have spare knickers in your hand. ;-) See what works best. The more you find out about your body the better equipped you will be to solve this.

Louise