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

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.