New research suggests that routinely holding urine, urinating “just in case,” and straining to urinate are linked with bladder symptoms in women.

Bladder symptoms are common in women of all ages. These may include a sudden need to urinate, frequent trips to the bathroom, urine leakage, difficulty starting urination, or a slow or weak stream.

A 2025 study published in the Journal of Women’s Health (Berry and colleagues) examined whether everyday toileting habits were associated with these symptoms.

What Did the Researchers Study?

The researchers analyzed information from 2,327 U.S. women whose average age was 51. Participants completed questionnaires about their urinary symptoms and bathroom habits.

The habits studied included:

  • Delayed voiding: continuing to hold urine after feeling the need to go.
  • Premature voiding: urinating before there is a real urge, sometimes called going “just in case.”
  • Straining: pushing or bearing down to start or continue urinating.
  • Place preference: avoiding or strongly preferring certain bathrooms.
  • Toileting position: sitting, hovering, squatting, or standing when using a bathroom away from home.

What Did the Study Find?

Women who more frequently delayed urination or went “just in case” tended to report more bladder-storage symptoms, particularly urinary urgency and urgency incontinence. Urgency incontinence means leaking urine after experiencing a sudden, difficult-to-control need to urinate.

Straining to urinate had the strongest connection with bladder-emptying problems. Women who reported more straining had about twice the odds of experiencing difficulty starting urination or having a slow or weak urine stream.

Bathroom position away from home—such as hovering rather than sitting—was generally not associated with most urinary symptoms in this study.

Younger Women May Be Especially Affected

The association between holding urine and bladder symptoms was strongest among women ages 18 to 25. In this age group, higher levels of delayed voiding were linked with particularly high odds of urgency-related leakage. The reason for this stronger association in younger women is not yet understood.

Work schedules, school rules, limited bathroom access, concerns about cleanliness, and lack of privacy or safety may all affect when women feel able to use the bathroom. These circumstances were not fully evaluated in the study.

What Does This Mean for Patients?

The results suggest that healthy bathroom habits may play a role in bladder health:

  • Try not to routinely ignore the need to urinate for long periods.
  • Avoid making frequent “just-in-case” bathroom trips when you have no urge, unless this is part of a plan recommended by your healthcare professional.
  • Relax your pelvic floor and allow urine to flow without regularly pushing or straining.
  • Speak with a healthcare professional if you repeatedly need to strain, have trouble starting, notice a weak stream, experience leakage, or have bothersome urgency.

Bladder training is sometimes used to treat urgency and overactive bladder. This involves delaying urination in a planned and controlled way and is different from repeatedly holding urine because a bathroom is unavailable or inconvenient.

An Important Limitation

This study found associations, not proof that bathroom habits cause bladder symptoms. Because the researchers looked at habits and symptoms at one point in time, they could not determine which came first. Certain habits might contribute to symptoms, existing symptoms might cause women to change their bathroom habits, or both may occur together. Longer-term studies are needed to answer this question.

The Bottom Line

Regularly holding urine, urinating “just in case,” and straining were associated with more urinary symptoms—although the study does not prove that these behaviors are the cause. Paying attention to bathroom habits and discussing persistent symptoms with a urology professional may be an important part of protecting bladder health.