What It Means If You Pee During Sex

Separately, a person's sexual activity and their bodily excretions already make for uncomfortable topics. Talking about them together, unsurprisingly, can create some nightmarishly awkward conversations. 

But what if they happen at the same time? Is it even possible for a person to unintentionally urinate while in the middle of sexual intercourse? Unfortunately, the answer is yes — and it seems that the phenomenon has been more commonly observed in women who were assigned female at birth.

As Medical News Today explains, the proximity between a female's bladder and her vagina and clitoris can explain accidental peeing during sex. More specifically, the bladder may be prodded or pressed on by objects that enter the vagina (like fingers, sex toys, or a partner's penis). This pressure on the bladder can result in the expulsion of pee while doing the deed.

Another potential explanation for peeing during sex is urinary incontinence, which describes the unintentional and uncontrollable act of peeing. Per a 2020 article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the rate at which males experience urinary incontinence is less than half the rate at which females do.

In a 2012 study published in the International Urogynecology Journal, researchers assessed 480 women and found that 60% of them experienced peeing while having sex. Moreover, the women shared that experiencing this negatively affected their sex lives.

There are three types of urinary incontinence, all of which may manifest during intercourse. The most frequently observed type is stress urinary incontinence, caused by the aforementioned pressure or stress on the bladder (not the mental and emotional kind of stress). This is said to be the case for more than half of reported incidents, according to a 2017 paper in the International Brazilian Journal of Urology. Stress urinary incontinence may also happen because of a sneeze, cough, or laugh, or when the person is carrying something heavy.

Another type is urgency urinary incontinence, which is more commonly experienced by the elderly. This is a sudden, urgent need to pee resulting from the bladder's overactive contractions. The final kind, mixed urinary incontinence, may happen due to a combination of urgency and stress.

While peeing during sex is less common among males, it can still happen under specific circumstances.

The main reason why urination during sex doesn't happen very often to males is because of the way the penis functions. The bladder opening closes during sex, preventing urine from flowing out and mixing with semen. With that said, a kind of prostate cancer treatment can cause males to experience this problem as well. After a man's prostate is completely removed (in a process called radical prostatectomy), one possible side effect is uncontrolled urination during sex, laughter, sneezing, coughing, or heightened physical activity.

Still, regardless of your assigned sex at birth, it is wise to consult your trusted healthcare professional if you pee during sex, in order for them to determine what may be causing it and how best to treat it. Urinary incontinence — whether it happens during sexual intercourse or not — is a symptom that you shouldn't ignore.