Women who’ve had children have been listed as being among the most susceptible to bladder leakage and because Orange has a high number of births, the message is being spread to women in the district.

The Pinnacle Physiotherapy Clinic physiotherapist Jo Fairfax treats people for pelvic floor and bladder issues and said there is a variety of help available.

“Having a baby is one of the biggest risk factors for developing pelvic organ prolapse,” Mrs Fairfax said.

“The statistic is one in three women who have had a baby will leak urine, that’s a lot of women in Orange who are at risk, just from having a baby.

“If women are experiencing any symptoms of prolapse or incontinence they have a few options, they could go and speak to their GP about it but there’s also a free helpline on 1800 330 066 they can call to get free and confidential advice.”

Mrs Fairfax also suggested people visit continence.org.au to search relevant health providers in the Orange area.

She said along with medical issues some at risk women either did not do pelvic floor exercises, did not know how, were doing them incorrectly or their muscles were too weak.

According to statistics from Australian Births Deaths and Marriages, Orange had the fifth highest birthrate in NSW last year with 559 babies born in the city.

It was the most babies born in a NSW town outside of Sydney.

In the Western Area Health District, which also includes Bathurst and Dubbo, about 10 babies are born every day. 

“There is a massive number of women who have problems with incontinence but they don’t seek help,” Mrs Fairfax said.

“It’s a massive problem for older people, a lot of women are out there wanting to buy continence products every week and it’s quite an expensive thing for them to be doing.”

According to the Continence Foundation of Australia 80 per cent of Australian women affected by bladder leakage do not seek help for the problem.

The data came from a national health survey of 1000 women aged 30 years and older about bladder leakage and of the women who would admit to friends or family members about having bladder leakage, 72 per cent of them “laughed it off”.

Of those women, 85 per cent attributed it to aging or having children without realising the issue could be helped.   

Continence Foundation of Australia chief executive Rowan Cockerell said incontinence should be treated like any other health condition.

“There continues to be a misconception that incontinence is an inevitable is an inevitable result of having children or aging, and that’s just not true,” she said.

The message is being sent out as part of World Continence Week, from June 19 to 25.