The medical professionals just say it's a common thing, 'get on with it'

FORMER TIGERS WOMEN PLAYER WANTS OTHERS WHO SUFFER WITH BLADDER LEAKS AND PELVIC PAIN TO KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALONE

- By ELEANOR FLEMING, PA

(DAVID THRIPP/PA)

A “SUPER extroverted” mother who enjoys going out and dancing has said pelvic pain and urinary incontinence are the “bane of (her) existence” because she can experience “leaks” at any moment.

Former Leicester Tigers player Vannessa Viljoen, 24, now a writer, has been an “avid gym-goer” since her early teens, training regularly and playing rugby until her 20s.

After quitting the sport to focus on her career and having a family, she became pregnant with her first child and is expecting her second soon, but has also been experiencing constant pelvic pain and frequent urinary incontinence.

She said she has bladder leakage every other day and, although she finds it therapeutic to joke with her friends, saying, “guys, I've just wet myself”, she has experienced medical “gaslighting” and is critical of a lack of support.

From experiencing leaks on the dance floor and having to carry pads and paracetamol at all times, to not being able to stand due to pain, Vannessa said these “taboo” issues affect her daily life.

Vannessa, who now lives in London, wants others to know they are “not alone” and to break down the social construction of “performative femininity”, where she feels women are expected to be “perfect, always”.

“On a night out, you're just dancing, trying to enjoy your life, and then you're like, ‘I've just leaked?’” Vannessa told PA Real Life.

“Then obviously it's making sure you've got the spare underwear in the bag, the panty liners, little things like that.

“Or if I'm wearing a dress, I may wear some shorts, just layering up, so I don't leak and lose an outfit.

“Sometimes you're just not conscious of it and then you'll realise when you're back home, or even just a little laugh (can cause leakages).

“It just hits you out of nowhere.”