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A person wearing an orange cardigan and white pants sits on a couch, clutching their stomach with both hands, appearing to be in discomfort or pain—perhaps a sign that attending to gut health is more important than ever.

UTI and Your Period: What You Need to Know

If you menstruate, experiencing a UTI while on your period can be an uncomfortable experience.
While a menstrual period may bring pain, pelvic pressure, and make you feel like you need to urinate more, a UTI can tack on additional symptoms.
Feeling a sudden, strong urge to use the restroom, burning when you pee, noticing cloudy urine, or pain that feels different than your usual cramps shouldn’t be ignored.

Keep reading to find out the relationship between UTIs and your period. Plus, learn what to do if you suspect you may have a urinary tract infection during your cycle.

A smiling young woman sits with a display of incontinence products. Text describes how she and her mother, both passionate health advocates, invented solutions after noticing missing options. The image promotes the Life Without Leaks NAFC podcast.

How One Young Woman Turned Incontinence Into Innovation

Growing up with spina bifida meant Bella Duarte-Crespo faced challenges most children never have to think about, including managing bladder and bowel incontinence at school. When she and her mother couldn’t find a product that met her needs, they decided to create one themselves.

In this inspiring episode, Bella shares how a personal struggle became the foundation for a fast-growing business, a passion for design and a lifelong commitment to disability advocacy. Along the way, she discusses living with spina bifida, overcoming embarrassment, building confidence and why being prepared has become her key to living life without leaks.

Whether you’re living with incontinence, caring for someone who is, or simply looking for a story of resilience and determination, Bella’s journey is sure to inspire.

A person wearing a peach top and beige skirt holds a teal awareness ribbon pinned to their waist, standing against a light green background—highlighting the importance of gut health and raising awareness about how to improve gut health.

Bladder & Urological Cancer Awareness: What You Need to Know

When it comes to cancer awareness, conditions such as breast, lung, and colorectal cancer often receive the most attention. Yet cancers of the urinary tract and male reproductive system—collectively known as urological or genitourinary cancers—affect hundreds of thousands of Americans each year.

FEATURED

A person wearing an orange cardigan and white pants sits on a couch, clutching their stomach with both hands, appearing to be in discomfort or pain—perhaps a sign that attending to gut health is more important than ever.

UTI and Your Period: What You Need to Know

If you menstruate, experiencing a UTI while on your period can be an uncomfortable experience.
While a menstrual period may bring pain, pelvic pressure, and make you feel like you need to urinate more, a UTI can tack on additional symptoms.
Feeling a sudden, strong urge to use the restroom, burning when you pee, noticing cloudy urine, or pain that feels different than your usual cramps shouldn’t be ignored.

Keep reading to find out the relationship between UTIs and your period. Plus, learn what to do if you suspect you may have a urinary tract infection during your cycle.

A smiling young woman sits with a display of incontinence products. Text describes how she and her mother, both passionate health advocates, invented solutions after noticing missing options. The image promotes the Life Without Leaks NAFC podcast.

How One Young Woman Turned Incontinence Into Innovation

Growing up with spina bifida meant Bella Duarte-Crespo faced challenges most children never have to think about, including managing bladder and bowel incontinence at school. When she and her mother couldn’t find a product that met her needs, they decided to create one themselves.

In this inspiring episode, Bella shares how a personal struggle became the foundation for a fast-growing business, a passion for design and a lifelong commitment to disability advocacy. Along the way, she discusses living with spina bifida, overcoming embarrassment, building confidence and why being prepared has become her key to living life without leaks.

Whether you’re living with incontinence, caring for someone who is, or simply looking for a story of resilience and determination, Bella’s journey is sure to inspire.

A person wearing a peach top and beige skirt holds a teal awareness ribbon pinned to their waist, standing against a light green background—highlighting the importance of gut health and raising awareness about how to improve gut health.

Bladder & Urological Cancer Awareness: What You Need to Know

When it comes to cancer awareness, conditions such as breast, lung, and colorectal cancer often receive the most attention. Yet cancers of the urinary tract and male reproductive system—collectively known as urological or genitourinary cancers—affect hundreds of thousands of Americans each year.

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NAFC Intimacy Blog

Incontinence & Intimacy: Reconnecting After Bladder Leaks

For many people, sex and intimacy is about far more than physical closeness. It’s about confidence, connection, vulnerability, and feeling comfortable in your own body.
When urinary incontinence enters the picture, those feelings can quietly change.
While often discussed as a physical condition, incontinence can deeply affect emotional well-being and romantic relationships, something many people experience but few talk about openly.

Saving Money Blog

The Financial Impact of Incontinence: Costs You May Not See

Incontinence is often discussed in terms of symptoms and quality of life but for many people, it also brings a steady (and sometimes surprising) financial burden. Beyond the obvious cost of pads, protective underwear, and skin-care products, there can be added expenses from laundry, missed work, caregiving needs, and medical visits. The good news: understanding where the costs come from is the first step toward reducing them—and getting the right treatment can be a cost-saver, not just a health improvement.

Talking To doctor Blog article

Speaking Up About Incontinence

For many people living with bladder leaks, the hardest part isn’t the symptoms themselves.
It’s deciding to talk about them.
Bladder leaks can feel too small to mention, too embarrassing to explain, or not “serious enough” to justify a doctor’s visit. Many people quietly manage symptoms for years—adjusting their routines, limiting activities, and hoping things don’t get worse.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And you’re not wrong for feeling this way.

WOMEN'S HEALTH

A person wearing an orange cardigan and white pants sits on a couch, clutching their stomach with both hands, appearing to be in discomfort or pain—perhaps a sign that attending to gut health is more important than ever.

UTI and Your Period: What You Need to Know

If you menstruate, experiencing a UTI while on your period can be an uncomfortable experience.
While a menstrual period may bring pain, pelvic pressure, and make you feel like you need to urinate more, a UTI can tack on additional symptoms.
Feeling a sudden, strong urge to use the restroom, burning when you pee, noticing cloudy urine, or pain that feels different than your usual cramps shouldn’t be ignored.

Keep reading to find out the relationship between UTIs and your period. Plus, learn what to do if you suspect you may have a urinary tract infection during your cycle.

A person sitting on a beige bath mat is placing an incontinence pad into their underwear for skin protection. A box labeled Attn: Grace with blue designs sits on the mat nearby.

Ask The Expert: From A Doctor’s Perspective What Are Some Common Questions You Hear?

If you’ve ever sneezed and held your breath hoping for the best, you’re not alone. Bladder leaks, pelvic floor issues, and the constellation of symptoms that go with them are incredibly common — and incredibly under-discussed. We sat down with two of our favorite experts who are changing the bladder leak conversation: Dr. Barbara Frank, Attn: Grace medical advisor and board certified OB/GYN, and Dr. Sara Reardon, pelvic floor physical therapist (and the woman your pelvic floor has been waiting to meet). They took turns asking each other the questions their patients ask most — and answered them with the same candor they bring to the exam room. They cover everything from how to prepare for postpartum, to what question to ask your own pelvic floor PT, to how to manage incontinence during menopause. This is a knowledge drop you don’t want to miss.

Four women of different ages sit closely together outdoors by water and greenery, smiling at the camera. The group appears joyful and relaxed, confidently enjoying the sunny day thanks to absorbent products for bladder leakage in women.

Why So Many Women Put Themselves Last — and Why It Matters

Women are often the caregivers, planners, problem-solvers, and emotional anchors for everyone around them. They manage households, careers, children, aging parents, relationships, schedules, and responsibilities that rarely stop.

And somewhere in the middle of taking care of everyone else, many women quietly stop taking care of themselves.

They ignore symptoms. Delay appointments. Push through exhaustion. Normalize discomfort. Tell themselves they’ll deal with it “later.”

But later can turn into years.

This Women’s Health Month, it’s worth asking:
When was the last time you truly prioritized your own health

Take NAFC's Annual Survey!

An older woman looks at an open door beyond blocks labeled support, information, cost, and time. Text encourages taking a survey about barriers to incontinence treatment. NAFC logo is shown.

Each Year, NAFC conducts an annual survey designed to get a pulse on a topic important to our readers. This year, we want to know – what’s holding you back from getting treatment?  Please consider taking 10 minutes to complete this brief survey. Your feedback will help shape future programs and initiatives offered by NAFC!