Becoming a mum left me incontinent - we need to talk about birth injuries

Rhi said the social media images of perfect family days out were a far cry from what became her reality, where each trip was planned around the availability of toilets.

"Probably 75% of them would end up in me having to get changed somewhere.

"At most I had 30 seconds 'hold time' before a poo. When you're in town with your family and you need the toilet - time those 30 seconds and see where you get.

"That's the reality that a lot of women with anal sphincter tears are living with."

It was only after the birth of her second child, three years later, that she was referred to a colorectal surgeon who discovered an anal sphincter tear.

Five years ago, Rhi had a procedure to put a sacral nerve stimulation system in place - where the nerves controlling the bowel can be stimulated with a device implanted under the skin.

"I went from having accidents pretty much every day, through urgency, to only once a month. It's not a miracle cure, but it's very good management."

The change in her life was poignantly noticed by her young son, who told her: "Your eyes smile now and they didn't smile before."

Rhi, who shares her experiences in a blog called "A Mum from the 'Diff" and voluntarily runs the Masic Foundation support group in south Wales, said there was "embarrassment" talking about such an intimate area.

"If it was a barrier for me, I can't imagine what kind of barrier it is to other women who may have a very different cultural background or don't speak English as a first language," she said.

A number of maternity units across Wales and England have now introduced OASI care bundles, which include discussions with pregnant women about how to reduce their injury risk, as well as better examinations after vaginal birth.

Meena Ali, consultant urogynaecologist at Cardiff and Vale health board, said staff were more aware and better trained to identify issues.

"After repair we refer them to physiotherapy colleagues, who help them from the beginning - to do the exercises, teach them to avoid certain things like constipation and how to use their pelvic muscles."

Research has now been funded by Health and Care Research Wales to work with marginalised communities in Wales to improve access to support, in a project called Pelvic Power Partnership.

Nicky Edwards, clinical nurse specialist in pelvic health and the functional bowel service at Cardiff and Vale health board, said the service saw predominantly white women, meaning others could be suffering in silence.

"It's about giving different communities a voice," she said. "We always adapt services to make it better for patients, but we only measure what we see in the service.

"So if there's a certain demographic that aren't coming to the service, we can't make it better for them - it's only driving inequality.

"We want to know why these women don't engage with the service and how can we overcome these barriers."

Eight years after her daughter was born, Geeta began sharing her experiences with others as an ambassador for the Masic Foundation.

"It was very difficult because there's taboo and stigma around bowel incontinence, but it was also empowering knowing I was contributing to making a difference for other women," she said.

"Peer support was so important - it was the first time I'd met other women with these injuries."

Geeta returned to her work in patient advocacy at a law firm a few years ago and is now arranging the second South Asian Maternal Health Conference.

"My injuries were 17 years ago and I think we have slowly started to break down that taboo and stigma, but we do need to do a lot more.

"We need to be educating the next generation about their pelvic health.

"And to anybody experiencing any kind of incontinence, you do not need to suffer in silence - please go and see your GP and try and get a referral to a pelvic health specialist physiotherapist."

You can listen to Women's Health Explained, BBC Wales' panel discussions on women's health, which was recorded earlier this year, on BBC Sounds.