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Home › Articles › Bedwetting › Of Bladders and Bedwetting

Of Bladders and Bedwetting

A Simple Explanation of the Urinary System

By Lyn Mettler

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As a child grows, however, the urinary system develops, eventually allowing the bladder to send messages to the brain when it is full. The brain, in turn, sends messages to bladder, signaling it to not release until the child decides he's ready to use the bathroom.

Nighttime incontinence, or enuresis, is considered to be a problem once a child reaches age 5 or 6. From the ages of 5 to 10, according to the NKUDIC, the child's nervous system may not be fully developed to allow proper communication between the brain and bladder, rendering them unable to control when the bladder empties.

"Developmental delays either keep the brain from recognizing that the bladder is full or prevent the bladder's urinary sphincter ... from stopping urination during sleep," says Dr. Amy Pakula, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. "In some children, the arousal-control areas of the brain may also be affected, allowing the child to 'sleep through' a full bladder rather than waking up to urinate."

The body also normally produces an antidiuretic hormone at night, which reduces the amount of urine produced, according Dr. Pakula. "In some children who bedwet, the nighttime level of the antidiuretic hormone does not increase as expected," she says. "When this happens, the amount of urine produced remains the same as during the day, and the bladder continues to fill as much as it would during waking hours." If a child then does not sense the full bladder and does not wake up, he's sure to end up with a wet bed.


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