Your
child has only a 15% chance of "growing
out" of wetting the bed this year.
Numerous epidemiological studies have provided insight into how
common nocturnal enuresis is among children throughout the world.
To put bedwetting into perspective, recognize that the development
of urinary control is a maturational process. Everyone is
a born wetting the bed. As children grow and develop, so does their
ability to control their bladder. Between the ages of 1 and 2 they
have a gradual enlargement of bladder capacity and begin to sense
when their bladder is full. When they are 3 and 4 they learn to
void, or inhibit voiding, voluntarily. By the age of 5, the majority
of children have an adult pattern of urinary control and the maturation
of the bladder is complete. However, approximately 20% of children
don't and are still having bedwetting episodes. As your child grows
older, chances decrease that bedwetting will just "disappear"
without help.
How prevalent is bedwetting? A number of epidemiological studies
have been conducted internationally to identify how many children
wet the bed and the results vary widely. Numerous researchers cite
the difficulty in getting willing parents to volunteer information
for accurate statistics. Nevertheless, a number of studies (13-16)
show significant prevalence in school aged children.
Source: Adapted from Fergusson DM et al (15)
and Johnson M (16)
The spontaneous remission rate for enuresis is estimated to be
approximately 15% per year. In other words, without any intervention,
only 15% of bedwetting children will become dry each year. Unfortunately,
the vast majority (i.e., 85%) will still be wetting the bed a year
from now if parents, or their pediatricians, choose not to intervene
with treatment.
