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Dr Catherine
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Girl
4-7 years

I have 5.5 y old boy/girl twins that both still wear nappies to bed. They go to the toilet before bed, then we put their nappy on as the last thing before sleep, but they are sooo full when they wake in the morning. Neither of them wake much during the night and are pretty solid sleepers. Should I be worried that they still wear Nappies to bed? If they weren’t so full each morning I’d try them for a few nights but not sure they are ready? I’ve read it can be to do with chemicals in the body?

Firstly, please be reassured that this is perfectly normal with at least 1 in 5 children your twins age continuing to wet the bed at night. Persistent bedwetting, that is bedwetting that occurs at least once a week, is not considered to be a problem until children turn six. I've had a number of parents like yourself write to me about the amount of urine their child seems to produce overnight – even flooding their nappy. There is a small number of children who wet the bed because they do not produce enough of the anti-diuretic hormone ADH. The job of the ADH hormone is to help control the amount of urine our body produces. If nighttime ADH levels are low, children continue to produce the same amount of urine at night as they produce throughout the day. Children will continue to wet the bed until their body begins to produce more of the hormone. If you at all concerned about your twins bedwetting I would recommend you follow this up with your GP. All the best! Kind Regards, Dr Cathrine