Here's something you won't hear around the water cooler - about one in three of us suffer from bladder weakness. But like other bodily functions it's not really something you want to natter about with your colleagues.

The most common cause of a weak bladder? A feeble pelvic floor - usually the result of giving birth. According to the journal Women's Health Medicine, up to 50 per cent of women are affected by stress incontinence (eg, leakage when you cough or sneeze) after giving birth, and 90 per cent of these women will still have the problem up to five years later. But before you swear off kids forever, take heart: with a few simple exercises you should be able to avoid the Depends aisle for many years to come.

Your pelvic floor is kinda like a hammock made of muscles, slung from your pubic bone at the front to your tailbone at the back. And just like any other muscle, they can get out of shape. Although pregnancy and giving birth are the most common causes of a weak pelvic floor, it can also happen through inactivity, hormonal changes, being overweight, chronic constipation or a chronic cough. Ahem.

"Most women are not aware of their pelvic floor until it starts to fail," says Dr Robyn Nagel, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist. So, take note now, before the onset of soggy smalls takes the fun out of your morning jog.

The best way to ensure your pelvic floor doesn't pack it in is to do pelvic floor exercises, AKA Kegel exercises (named after the US gynaecologist who invented 'em). What are Kegel exercises? Seems most of you don't know - in a recent WH online poll, 62 per cent of respondents didn't even know what they were, while only six per cent of you claimed to do them "regularly".

Kegel exercises involve contracting and relaxing the muscles of the pelvic floor. The best bit? You can do them any time, anywhere, and no one needs to know.

Tips on giving your pelvic floor a proper workout:

# Focus on the muscles around your vagina, and squeeze them in, like you're trying not to wee.

1. Squeeze, squeeze tighter, and tighter, and hold up to a count of eight, then release.
   Squeeze and relax the muscles rhythmically (breathe out as you squeeze) for three sets of eight to 12 squeezes, with a rest in between.