Today we are going to debunk some myths that you may have heard about toileting! Yes, that is right we are going to be talking all things toilet habits today. Read on to find out how many of the 5 Myths about toileting you thought were true.

Myth #1 You should have to push to pee.
This is 100% false. The release of urine is an active relaxing our pelvic floor muscles. A lot of women are power pee-er’s and try to get in and get out of the restroom as quick as possible resulting in pushing to get the pee out quickly. We’re actually design to sit down, relax, and let the flow happen. So what I recommend is if you are a power pee-er, try to sit down on the toilet and take 5 to 10 deep breaths while you are peeing to let everything relax and happen naturally. Do not try to push the pee out.

Myth #2 Doing Kegels while on the toilet is a great time to practice.
A kegel is when we contract the pelvic floor muscles like we’re trying to stop the flow of urine or hold back pee or poop. So we can understand how some would think it would be a great time to practice kegels while we’re sitting on the toilet and while the urine stream is happening. There are actually some big problems to this. It’s okay every once and awhile to try to stop the flow of urine to see if you can as a test to see if your pelvic floor muscles are working, but we don’t want to be doing a lot of squeezes back and forth, back and forth, back and forth while we we’re trying to pee. For one, there are a lot of reflexes that lead into us having a normal urine flow when we sit down to pee. And if we’re doing a lot of back and forth, back and forth contractions, that actually can mess up the natural process of urination. As a result, you might get some urinary retention where you’re not emptying your bladder all the way potentially leading to infections and problem emptying in the future. It’s best to practice kegels off the toilet.

Myth #3. “I should be trying to slow down my stream and contract my muscles so that my stream of urine comes out very slowly instead of the coming out really fast.”
Again, we’re meant to sit down, relax, and let urine out naturally. We’re not trying to speed it up or slow it down in anyway.

Myth #4 We should hover over the toilet.
That is false. As said above, our bodies are designed to sit and relax to pee. We need to sit down fully to allow our pelvic floor muscles relax. Hovering over the toilet can also prevent the bladder from emptying completely.  If you are worried about sanitary issues, they make disposable toilets seat covers that are come in little packs that you can keep in your purse.

Myth #5 Peeing while you poop is not normal.
The answer is that it’s totally fine. If you have a bowel movement and urine comes out, it’s okay. If you have the bowel movement and urine doesn’t come out, it’s okay. Both of those are normal situations. We shouldn’t be worrying that you are only having one situation or another happen. It’s very normal either way.

So there you have it! 5 toileting myths debunked. Which one surprised you the most? Comment below.