How to Pronounce Stress Urinary Incontinence Post-Partum

Say it like this: STRES YOOR-ih-nair-ee in-KON-tih-nens POHST PAR-tum. Break it into four main chunks: 'stress' (rhymes with 'mess'), 'urinary' (sounds like 'YOOR-ih-nair-ee'), 'incontinence' (sounds like 'in-KON-tih-nens'), and 'post-partum' (sounds like 'POHST PAR-tum'). The strongest emphasis goes on the first syllable of each main word: STRESS, YOOR, KON, and POHST.

People often stress the wrong syllable in 'urinary,' saying yoo-RAIN-uh-ree instead of YOOR-ih-nair-ee. Another common mistake is rushing through 'incontinence' and saying in-con-TIN-ence instead of in-KON-tih-nens. Remember: the stress falls early in the word, not in the middle or end.

'Urinary' comes from the Latin word 'urina,' meaning urine or water. 'Incontinence' comes from Latin 'in-' (meaning 'not') plus 'continentia' (meaning 'holding together' or 'control'). 'Post-partum' comes from Latin 'post' (meaning 'after') and 'partum' (meaning 'birth'). Put together, the whole phrase means 'loss of control over urine after childbirth.'

The full phrase has 13 syllables: stress (1) + u-ri-nar-y (4) + in-con-ti-nence (4) + post (1) + par-tum (2). When you say it out loud slowly, breaking between each small sound helps you hear all 13 pieces.

In everyday language, people call this 'leaking urine after childbirth' or just use the short form 'SUI post-partum.' Medical professionals sometimes shorten it to just 'SUI,' which stands for 'stress urinary incontinence,' and then add that it happened after delivery.

In this context, 'stress' doesn't mean worry or pressure—it means physical pressure or strain on the body, like from coughing, sneezing, or exercise. The term 'stress urinary incontinence' means urine leaks out when there's physical stress on the body, not emotional stress.

Yes! You might hear 'urge incontinence' (a different type of urinary leakage) or 'fecal incontinence' (loss of control over bowel movements). All these terms use 'incontinence,' which means loss of control. The word before 'incontinence' tells you which body function is affected.

You might hear someone say: 'Her doctor explained that stress urinary incontinence post-partum is a common condition after vaginal delivery.' Or: 'She was referred to a specialist who treats stress urinary incontinence post-partum.' Notice the full term describes both what happens and when it happens.