When it comes to incontinence, there are so many old wives' tales that it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. 20-year-old Lauren Schmidt* from Fish Hoek, Cape Town thought that a weakened bladder was something that only affected old ladies... until she started experiencing bladder leakages herself.
After losing her mother at the age of fourteen, Lauren began to develop unhealthy eating habits that would later indirectly contribute to her bladder woes.
"I began comfort eating and soon started putting on a few kilograms every month. I was going through puberty and my metabolism changed but I was also eating really badly and didn't want to play sports at school any more. I would rather hide in my bedroom with a slab of chocolate and a bag of chips and read my books."