WHEN

05/11/2026

Around 1 in 3 women may leak some urine in the first year after giving birth.

Leaking after birth can come as a real shock. No one may have told you it could happen, and it can affect how you feel about your body, going out, exercising and s*x.

You’re not alone. Around 1 in 3 women leak some urine in the first year after birth. There are simple things you can start doing today to manage it and feel more in control, and for many women it improves with the right support.

Leaking can show up in different ways, and it can change from day to day.

You might leak a little when you cough, sneeze, laugh, lift your baby or jump. This is called stress incontinence, and it’s the most common type after birth.

You might also get a sudden, strong urge to go and find you can’t make it to the toilet in time. Or you might need to go more often than before, or notice a small dribble after you’ve finished.

Some women have a mix of these. Knowing what’s happening for you can help you and a health professional work out what will help most.

Read the full article:
https://when.org.au/education/leaking-urine-after-having-a-baby/

Developed by the WHEN Clinical Team. Clinically reviewed by the WHEN Clinical Governance Committee. Last reviewed: 04/10/2026

04/11/2026

Too often, important conversations about risks, complications and possible outcomes are avoided because we don’t want to scare women.

But withholding information doesn’t protect women. It can take away their ability to make informed choices and leave them unprepared when their experiences don’t go as expected.

Women deserve honest, evidence-based information about their healthcare, including the risks, benefits and available options.

Informed consent isn’t about creating fear. It’s about giving women the knowledge and confidence to make decisions about their own bodies.

Do you feel you were adequately informed about what to expect during pregnancy, birth and recovery?

02/11/2026

“Everything's focused on the baby, but you've just had open surgery.”

Women in the UK are calling for better support following caesarean births, sharing experiences of being left to manage their physical and mental recovery with little guidance or follow-up care.

The need for better postnatal care extends beyond caesarean births.

Whether women give birth vaginally or by caesarean, pregnancy and childbirth can have lasting impacts on their bodies and wellbeing. Yet too many women are left without the information, education and support they need to understand their recovery and know when to seek help.

At WHEN, we believe women deserve access to clear, evidence-based health information and appropriate care throughout their lives, including after childbirth.

"I felt left to manage my recovery by myself and if there was better postnatal support, then I wouldn't be suffering the way that I am today."

Recovery after birth shouldn't be something women are left to navigate alone.

Kyra is backing a petition calling for improved postnatal care for woman who have had Caesarean sections.

01/11/2026

Our submission to the Australian Senate Select Committee on Women's Health has officially been accepted and published.

This is an important opportunity for WHEN to contribute to the national conversation about women's health.

Our submission highlights the need for better education, greater access to postnatal healthcare and more support for women's long-term physical health, including after miscarriage and stillbirth.

We're calling for a shift in how Australia approaches maternity care: from simply ensuring mothers survive childbirth to supporting their long-term health and wellbeing.

We're pleased to have our evidence and recommendations included in this important parliamentary inquiry.

Read WHEN's published submission (No. 228) on the Parliament of Australia website.

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Womens_Health/WomensHealth/Submissions

26/10/2026

WHEN’s founder and CEO, Peta Titter has an article in the latest edition of ANMJ Australia.

“Women report being unprepared for the physical changes that affect how they move, work, and care for their families. Musculoskeletal pain, pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary incontinence are common postnatal outcomes, yet routinely normalised rather than prevented or treated.”

“When symptoms arrive without warning, women have no framework to understand them. “Nobody told me” and “why didn’t anyone explain this to me.” They accept them as part of motherhood rather than something that can be prevented, managed, or treated”

21/10/2026

Peta knew all about pelvic floor health. As a continence nurse, she understood the risks and did everything she could to protect her pelvic floor during her first pregnancy.

And yet, after the birth of her first baby, she experienced severe incontinence.

Pregnancy and birth are unpredictable. We can prepare, we can be informed and we can take preventative steps, but we cannot control every outcome.

That’s why women need honest information about what can happen, and the support and care to address it when it does.

when.org.au



Have you experienced any incontinence issues after pregnancy?

21/10/2026

More options for women experiencing miscarriage in Australia.

Until now, women experiencing a missed miscarriage have had limited treatment options.

A missed miscarriage is when the pregnancy has stopped developing but your body hasn’t passed it yet.

Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has now approved medication that can help the body complete a miscarriage during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

The medication, called MS-2 Step, has also been approved for medical abortion up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, increased from 9 weeks.

WHEN was proud to provide feedback as part of the application process.

The medication still needs to be considered for government subsidy through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for miscarriage treatment. Until then, women may need to pay out of pocket.

Speak with your GP about the options available to you.

To learn more about miscarriage and hear women's lived experiences, visit our website to view our Miscarriage Project.

when.org.au

20/10/2026

Birth is unpredictable. So why don’t we prepare women for that?

We often talk about labour and birth as though there’s a predictable path - that if you prepare enough, plan enough or do everything “right”, things will go a certain way.

But we can’t tell women exactly how their birth will unfold.

Being honest about that isn’t about frightening women. It’s about giving them realistic information so they can go into birth informed, rather than with expectations that may be impossible to meet.

when.org.au

20/10/2026

New menopause guidelines have been released, and WHEN is proud to have contributed to their development.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) has released updated clinical guidelines to support healthcare professionals in managing common menopause symptoms.

The guidelines focus on hot flushes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, painful s*x and urinary symptoms, helping healthcare professionals provide evidence-based care.

WHEN Board Vice Chair and Chair of our Clinical Governance Committee, Dr Catriona Melville, chaired the guideline development group and WHEN also contributed feedback during the development process.

Listen to Dr Catriona Melville talk about the guidelines on ABC Listen - 13.48 minutes in.

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/healthreport/new-menopause-guidelines-could-be-a-gamechanger/107266726

New guidelines for clinicians will clarify when to use menopausal hormone therapy over other medicines, and what options are available for those with a history of breast cancer. The author of a study investigating what goes on in the gut microbiome of people who have and are being treated for cancer...

19/10/2026

WHEN’s founder and CEO, Peta Titter, spoke with Lucy Breadan this afternoon on ABC radio about prolapse.

What it is, when it happens and more.

Until we can talk about prolapse openly, things won’t change.

ABC Hobart