Development of bladder control in the first year of life in children who are potty trained early

Abstract

Objective: To describe longitudinally the development of micturition patterns in children who are potty trained early.

Subjects and methods: Healthy children in Vietnam from newborn up to 1 year were investigated every 3 months. This included mapping of the micturition pattern through the 4-h micturition observation method.

Results: Forty-seven children participated in all five investigations. At the ages of newborn, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, 70%, 82%, 91%, 99% and 100% of the mothers, respectively, were potty training their children. Mean lowest bladder volume (voided volume + residual urine) triggering a micturition was 18 ml at the age of 2 weeks compared to 33 ml at 12 months. Post-void residual urine decreased according to age, and already at 9 months was less than 7 ml (mean 0.7 ml).

Conclusions: The dyscoordination between the sphincter and detrusor muscle seems to have already disappeared at the age of 9 months in infants who are potty trained very early. These findings suggest that potty training can be beneficial in small children with urinary tract infections or renal scars.