Continence Program

Urinary incontinence (enuresis) can be very stressful for the patient and family. Urinary incontinence can cause stress, social anxiety, and embarrassment for the child leading to missing out on activities with friends and family, such as sleepovers, summer camps, or school trips. In addition, urinary incontinence can cause uneasiness for parents. Here at Connecticut Children’s, we strive to help reduce this complication: We want your child to be able to participate in all life events without worrying about having a urinary accident.

Conditions We Treat

Daytime urinary incontinence: Daytime urinary incontinence (DUI) is when a child accidentally pees without making it to the toilet. This occurs after potty training.
Bedwetting: Bedwetting, also called nocturnal enuresis, is a condition where a child has a urinary accident overnight while sleeping.
Urinary urgency: Sudden and unexpected experience of an immediate need to void.
Urinary hesitancy: Hesitancy can happen when it is difficult for your child to start peeing and they may have to wait some time for peeing to start.
Urinary frequency: Peeing 8 or more times during waking hours.
Dysfunctional voiding: When the bladder muscles try to push pee out, but the pelvic floor muscles beneath the bladder do not relax.
Underactive bladder: Children who go for long periods of time throughout the day not peeing have underactive bladder. Sometimes it can be hard to get the pee out, so these children use their bellies to help push.
Urinary tract infection: A urinary tract infection, or UTI, is where bacteria enter the bladder an infect it. There are two types of UTI’s: lower UTIs, which are confined to the bladder and upper UTIs, which involve both the bladder and kidneys. Upper UTIs are also typically accompanied by high fevers (usually > 101).

Services We Provide

Bladder scan: This test performed in clinic uses a handheld ultrasound wand to find if there is any urine left in your child’s bladder after they void. This helps us to determine if there is an issue with the way the bladder empties urine.
Urinalysis: This is a test that looks at your child’s urine to determine (if any) abnormalities. To do this test, your child pees into a cup.
Renal/bladder ultrasound: The jelly on the belly test! This is a test performed in the Radiology Department to take images of the bladder, ureters, and kidneys. No radiation is involved with this test. It is used to evaluate for any anatomical or congenital issues affecting the urinary tract.
Uroflow: A Uroflow is a test that is used to evaluate how the bladder empties urine by examining how fast the urine comes out, the amount of urine that is expelled, and the total time of urination.
Urodynamics: This is a study that involves the placement of a urinary and rectal catheter. This test examines how the bladder fills and empties, as well as the pressures within the bladder. From this data, it can be determined if there is an abnormality within the urinary tract. Get more information about urodynamics.