Show Notes
In 2022, for the first time, a pelvic health guide was published to help non-specialist clinicians advise women on pelvic floor muscle training. It's for GPs, midwives, nurses and health visitors - to try to plug a long-standing knowledge gap and help more women with pelvic floor dysfunction to access practical support. In this episode, Helen speaks to Dr Adanna Okeahialam, an Obstetrics & Gynaecology registrar with an interest in Urogynaecology, and co-author of the 'Pelvic Floor Muscle Training: A Practical Guide'. They discuss the sudden spotlight on pelvic health, why pelvic floor exercises are a first line treatment and their role in preventing pelvic floor dysfunction.
NICE Guideline: Pelvic floor dysfunction: prevention and non-surgical management (Published 9 Dec 2021) RCOG Position Statement: Pelvic Floor Health RCOG Survey: Pelvic Floor Health Pelvic health resources from POGP If you're new to pelvic floor dysfunction and want to go back to basics, go back and listen to this episode. The book, Why Mums Don't Jump: Ending the Pelvic Floor Taboo, is available NOW!
More from Why Mums Don't Jump
Helen is back with a one-off episode in association with IMEDicare - Pelvic Health Naturally, sponsor of season 5 of Why Mums Don't Jump. You'll hear from Vicky Grubb who's an upholsterer from Hampshire and mum to two boys. Vicky discovered she had stress incontinence when she took up tennis and then running in her mid thirties. She explains how she found a new lease of life with the Efemia bladder support - a vaginal pessary designed for stress incontinence: 'It's been life changing...I don't think I've ever leaked when I've worn it running' And Helen catches up with iMEDicare's founder Darren Breen to find out what motivated him to start the business 20 years ago, and to take a look at some of the other products that are helping people to manage their pelvic health symptoms: 'Making people aware that these devices exist is the great passion for me, because it can transform their quality of life' Season 5 of Why Mums Don't Jump is sponsored by IMEDicare - Pelvic Health Naturally. IMEDicare supplies a range of easy-to-use, medically approved products including Lumana incontinence leggings and running shorts, the Efemia bladder support and Enna Pelvic Ball; a discount code is available via the Why Mums Don't Jump online affiliate shop. Find out more about pessaries in this episode of the podcast and this episode of the podcast. Listen to this episode to find out more about what to expect at an appointment with a pelvic health physiotherapist.
Somehow it's the season 5 finale! And it's a good one! In this episode Helen speaks to the German footballer Melanie Leupolz who returned to play for Chelsea just months after giving birth to her son and to the pelvic health physiotherapist Emma Brockwell who worked with Melanie to get her back on the pitch. They talk about the unwavering support Melanie had under former Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes; a lack of female-specific research when it comes to elite sport; and how taking female health into consideration can be game-changing. We get an insight into how pelvic health conversations go down in the locker room and Melanie explains why she wanted to share her story. Buy Emma's book: Why Did No One Tell Me: How to Protect, Heal and Nurture Your Body Through Motherhood in my affiliate shop. Season 5 of Why Mums Don't Jump is sponsored by IMEDicare - Pelvic Health Naturally. IMEDicare supplies a range of easy-to-use, medically approved products including Lumana incontinence leggings and running shorts, the Efemia bladder support and Enna Pelvic Ball; a discount code is available via my online affiliate shop. Sign up for the Why Mums Don't Jump email newsletter for the latest news and offers!
It’s so easy to get confused about pelvic floor health. One minute you know nothing about it, the next you’ve fallen down a social media rabbit hole of do’s and don’ts.
POP Club returns! You may remember, way back in season 1, that Helen met up with a couple of local mums who had pelvic organ prolapse and birth injury in common. They became friends, she persuaded them to speak on the podcast and well, the rest is history! In this typically chaotic episode, Helen catches up with Skye and Jess (not their real names) to find out where they're at with their pelvic floor problems. There's frustration over hospital care, nerve damage (pudendal neuralgia) and a missed birth injury. They discuss symptoms - old and new - and Jess makes a new prolapse friend...nearly. That first POP Club! episode led to unofficial POP Clubs forming in the UK and around the world. If you'd like to know more, read this.
Helen speaks to Hayley Schoenberg who lives in Hamburg, Germany, with her wife and three-year-old daughter. She discovered she had a prolapse two years after her daughter was born, whilst going through fertility treatment for a second child. It's something that had a big impact on her life and on her work as a dancer, burlesque performer and hypnobirthing teacher.