Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

  • Hebrew
  • English
  • Espnaol
  • Francais
  • donate
Menu
Side Bar

Is leaking urine a possible hargashah?

1 April, 2009

Question:

Hello and thank you (again) for your help.

I am presently breastfeeding my young baby. Since giving birth, I sometimes don’t make it to the bathroom before leaking some urine on my underwear. When this happens, do I have to worry about any stains found on colored underwear? I know that urinating is considered to ‘mask’ a potential hargasha, in which case, perhaps, colored underwear would not help?


Answer:

Mazal tov on the recent birth of your baby!

You are correct that there is a concern that the sensation of urination may mask a hargashah. Therefore, due to the possibility of a hargashah, we are strict with stains that are found immediately after urinating.  However, in any situation of doubt we are lenient and may disregard the stains, since this is only a possible hargashah (and not a definite one). In your case, the stain might have been on your underwear before your possible hargashah, or it might have appeared more than a few seconds afterwards. Therefore, you may disregard any stain found on your colored underwear.

Please note that, while leaking urine after childbirth is not uncommon, there is often treatment for this condition. Exercises known as “Kegels” can be done to strengthen your muscles and help restore control. We suggest that you perform these on a consistent basis, and, if the problem continues, consult your health care provider. For a more detailed discussion, please see our article on Urinary Stress Incontinence.


This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional. For further questions or comments:  The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.

Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.

Accessibility Toolbar