Breaking the taboo: Limerick woman leads new approach to childhood continence care

A LIMERICK woman who is the country's first qualified female urotherapist is bringing urotherapy to Ireland as a new way to help children and families struggling with continence challenges.

This non-pharmacological approach to treating lower urinary tract disorders (LUTD) in children and adolescents is widely used across Europe as the gold standard treatment for paediatric continence challenges.

Speaking about urotherapy, Behaviour Specialist and Urotherapist, Deirdre Holland Hannon from Newcastle West explained: “It wasn't until I became a parent myself, really, that I even realised how much of a challenge children's continence issues can be and then when I went into my own consultancy service for parents, I realized that potty training, bowel problems, and bedwetting, especially, is a massive pain point for parents.”

Deirdre studied a Bachelor's degree in Nursing in UL and a Master's in Behavioural Analysis. “I have always worked with continence care within those roles to some extent,” she said.

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She has also successfully completed the European Society of Paediatric Urology ESPU and International Children's Continence Society ICCS master course in Urotherapy. She undertook the course along with 20 other individuals across Europe. “I eagerly await my graduation at their joint congress in Vienna. I’m proud to be a trailblazer in introducing this compassionate, evidence-based approach that’s transforming lives abroad.”

Deirdre expressed her happiness at having completed this course, saying it has increased her job satisfaction tenfold. “I feel I can do so much more for parents, and that really is what drives me on. I'd love to see urotherapy become a standard part of paediatric care in Ireland.”

According to Deirdre, the big pain point for parents is normally stool withholding or poo holding, where the child just does not want to poo, and they can pee without pooing or soil themselves because they don't want to do it in the toilet. “Secondary to that would be urine postponing, again, kind of toilet avoiding, not wanting to go. And then, definitely in my top three, if not my number one, would be bedwetting.”

Deirdre continued: “All parents are struggling with some element of this, be it from the get go with potty training... Constipation, but also fecal incontinence and stool holding is a big one for the toddlers and the preschoolers.”

Deirdre was surprised to discover through her work that there is still a taboo around bedwetting in Ireland and she said there is a “lack of consistency” across healthcare professionals as to the approach taken to stop bedwetting.

Despite this, she feels that modern parents are open to the urotherapy approach. “We're open to support, we're not afraid to reach out for it. I think the 2025 parent is not the same as the 1985 parent. The lifestyle is busier and there's a lot more pressure on parents.”

“I think urotherapy is very practical. It's empowering, and sometimes that can take the stress out of a lot of parenting situations,” added Deirdre.

For more information visit deirdrehollandhannon.com or find Deirdre on Instagram @deehollhan. She also teaches parenting workshops and offers one to one consultations.