Leaking Urine During Sex: How Common It Is and What Can Help

Leaking urine before, during or after sex is called coital incontinence.¹ Many women are too embarrassed to mention it, so they don’t learn how common and treatable it is.

How common it is

A 2026 review pooled 23 studies with more than 21,000 women who had bladder leaks.¹

• About 1 in 3 also leaked with sex.¹
• Leaking happened most often during penetration.¹

Leaking can also happen with orgasm.² Note exactly when it happens, since that helps your clinician sort out the cause.

What can help

Treating the underlying leak type. In the sling study below, most women with stress leaks (leaking with coughing or exercise) leaked during penetration.² Options for stress leaks include pelvic floor therapy, a continence pessary, bulking injections or a sling. Our guides to pelvic floor exercises, continence pessaries and sling routes explain them.

What one sling study found. In 60 sexually active women (average age about 53) with stress leaks and leaking during sex, a transobturator sling was considered successful for leaking during sex in about 92% at one year.² Women also reported better quality of intercourse and less distress.² This was a small study without a comparison group.

Urge-type leaks need different treatment. See our guides to bladder training and mixed incontinence.

Questions to ask

1. Is my leaking during sex from stress leaks, urge leaks or both?
2. Would pelvic floor therapy help before considering procedures?
3. Would vaginal estrogen help if I’m past menopause? See vaginal estrogen for leaks.
4. Should I have bladder testing before choosing a treatment?

Try: “I leak urine during sex, mostly with penetration, and it’s affecting my relationship. What type of leak is this, and what treatments would fit?”

Laugh, Sneeze, Jump includes an appointment prep sheet. Use it to note when leaks happen, including during sex, so you can describe them clearly.