Vaginal Pessaries: A Deep Dive

Forget Glastonbury! There's a women's health festival happening in Cardiff on Saturday June 24th, 2023, and it's going to be epic!The EveryWoman Festival is about offering empowerment, support and education on health topics that may be difficult or considered taboo to talk about. In this bonus episode, Helen is joined by the colorectal surgeon and EveryWoman founder, Julie Cornish, as well as fellow-speakers: the GP and health educator Dr Aziza Sesay and author of PMSL, Luce Brett. They give us a flavour of what's to come - smashing pelvic health taboos, closing the gender health gap, periods, menopause, mental health and sexual wellbeing...alongside belly dancing, cookery, music and more!You can buy tickets from The EveryWoman Festival websiteYou can follow @theeverywomanfestival on Instagram

If you've ever Googled your pelvic floor problems, you've probably come across Hypopressives. They're not easy to describe, but are essentially a series of breathing and posture exercises for your core and pelvic floor, with a focus on decreasing intra-abdominal pressure. While they're not currently a recommended NHS treatment, more evidence is emerging about the use of hypopressives in treating symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, including incontinence and prolapse. Alice Housman is a hypopressives trainer with a background in gynaecology nursing, and she’s working to publish her own research. She's also a mum with pelvic organ prolapse, who found that hypopressives helped her to become virtually asymptomatic. In this episode Helen and Alice discuss hypopressives - what they are, how they're thought to work and what the evidence is behind them.As ever, this content is not intended as medical advice, so please seek out your own professional support and, of course, do your own research. You can find Alice's website hereAlice is @hypopressives_with_alice on Instagram The paper that Alice refers to is Effectiveness of Hypopressive Exercises in Women with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: A Randomised Controlled Trial (Navarro-Brazález, B.; Prieto-Gómez, V.; Prieto-Merino, D.; Sánchez-Sánchez, B.; McLean, L.; Torres-Lacomba, M. Effectiveness of Hypopressive Exercises in Women with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: A Randomised Controlled Trial. J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9, 1149. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9041149)Not an ad!

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 HealthRCOG Survey: Pelvic Floor HealthPelvic health resources from POGPIf 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!

How do you safely return to exercise when you have pelvic floor problems? Maybe you're afraid to make a prolapse worse, or you leak when you run or jump. Maybe you've been advised to avoid running, jumping or lifting, and if so, how do you find a way to feel strong again? Helen speaks to the pre and postnatal exercise specialist Shakira Akabusi - founder of the maternal wellness platform, Strong Like Mum, public speaker, author and TV fitness expert. They discuss postpartum rehabilitation, the power in taking things slowly, and the role that fitness professionals can play in helping mums with pelvic floor dysfunction."I have never been stronger than I have after having a baby. Because the really special thing that pregnancy and postpartum gives you is this opportunity to really look at the foundations in a way that I never did when I was a teenager or in my twenties." Shakira is @shakira.akabusi on InstagramShakira's book: The Strong Like Mum Method is available hereIf you enjoyed this episode, you might also like this one, with pelvic health physio, Emma BrockwellThe book, Why Mums Don't Jump: Ending the Pelvic Floor Taboo, is available NOW!

<T/W: description of birth, perineal tear and blood loss>In this episode, Helen speaks to listener, Prudent Haughton, who developed prolapse, pelvic pain and incontinence following a severe tear during the birth of her second child, fifteen months ago. Prudent talks about how she, like so many of us, was taken completely by surprise, but how she's tackling her issues head on. Prudent describes her experience of birth,  pelvic health physiotherapy, osteopathy and fitness. She speaks about the importance of having supportive family and friends, and the benefits of learning to stop, relax and breathe. You'll come into a room, I'll be laying down on my back and my feet will just be up in the air! But it's made such a big difference to learn to just stop, and take a moment.The book, Why Mums Don't Jump: Ending the Pelvic Floor Taboo, is available NOW!

Picking up where we left off last time: surgical options for pelvic floor dysfunction. What treatments or procedures are available, what do they involve, and to what extent do they work? Urogynaecology is a sub-speciality of gynaecology that focuses on helping women with problems relating to the pelvic floor and bladder. It's where you might end up if you get a referral to see a specialist. In the second half of this two-part episode, Helen speaks to Dr Charlotte Mahoney, a consultant urogynaecologist at St Mary's hospital in Manchester, about treatments for overactive bladder (which includes urge incontinence), surgeries for pelvic organ prolapse and how to get the most from your long awaited appointment.For more NHS information about surgery and procedures for urinary incontinence, click hereFor more information on PTNS listen to the WMDJ episode 'Sara's Story'Colorectal services, listen to the WMDJ episode, 'Pelvic Floor Surgery: Colorectal'The book, Why Mums Don't Jump: Ending the Pelvic Floor Taboo, is available now!

If you have pelvic floor dysfunction, there's a good chance you've at least wondered about your surgical options. What treatments or procedures are available, what do they involve, and to what extent do they work?  Urogynaecology is a sub-speciality of gynaecology that focuses on helping women with problems relating to the pelvic floor and bladder. It's where you might end up if you get a referral to see a specialist. In the first half of this two-part episode, Helen speaks to Dr Charlotte Mahoney, a consultant urogynaecologist at St Mary's hospital in Manchester, about what happens during an assessment, where we're at with pelvic mesh, what treatments and surgeries are available for stress incontinence and the importance of 'prehab'. In part two (available from 4/4/23) Dr Mahoney gives an overview of treatments for overactive bladder (which includes urge incontinence), she outlines surgeries for pelvic organ prolapse and explains how to get the most from your long awaited appointment. For more NHS information about surgery and procedures for urinary incontinence, click hereYou can find the Cumberlege report (IMMDS Review) hereFor more information on Colorectal services, listen to the WMDJ episode, 'Pelvic Floor Surgery: Colorectal' The book, Why Mums Don't Jump: Ending the Pelvic Floor Taboo, is available now!

<Trigger warning: description of birth including ventouse delivery, episiotomy, retained placenta, anal fissures.>In this episode, Helen and the actress Sarah Jayne Dunn talk about postpartum recovery and how hard that can be, especially if things haven't gone exactly to plan. They discuss our lack of knowledge about what our bodies have been through, and the challenge of finding the right support to get us back to where we want to be. Known for her role as Mandy in the British drama, Hollyoaks, Sarah is the host of the Hot and Bothered Podcast; and a star of Only Fans. She's also a fitness instructor who qualified in pre and postnatal fitness around the same time as she was expecting her son, around seven years ago. She speaks openly about her experience of birth and the difficult recovery that followed; how she found her own path back to strength and fitness; and a new found love of pole-dancing!'We need to be informed, whatever that looks like....I'd be much more clued up if I had another child, but I wasn't before. It's all about the pregnancy and it's all about the birth and then it's like...and BANG.'Sarah Jayne Dunn is @sarahjaynedunn on Instagram and TwitterThe Female Fitness Academy, mentioned by Sarah is now called Sigma Woman and can be found hereListen to Helen on BBC 5 live here (available until 14/4/23)Please see the Resources page for supportYou can find Helen @whymumsdontjump on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook and at www.whymumsdontjump.com

You might have heard the term 'pelvic pain' but what does it really mean? And how does it relate to pelvic floor problems after childbirth?  In this episode Helen speaks to Virginia Rivers Bulkeley, a specialist pelvic health physiotherapist and an expert in postnatal pelvic floor dysfunction and persistent pelvic pain. Virginia explains what can cause persistent pelvic pain, what it feels like and what treatments are available. She talks about what it means to have a hypertonic, aka overactive, aka high tone (!) pelvic floor, where painful sex (dyspareunia) fits in and the impact of it all on women's lives. 'We know it's around one-in-four women that can be affected by this kind of persistent pain to some degree, and we know it can be hugely impactful. Whether it stops you being able to fully go to work as you'd want to; fully involved in recreational activities that bring you physical and mental health benefits; family life or relationships - the whole person can be affected.'Virginia is @BulkeleyV on TwitterFor more information about persistent pelvic pain and pelvic floor muscle relaxation strategies, please see the links belowhttps://www.pelvicpain.org.au/https://vulvalpainsociety.org/https://www.jillybond.com/blog/pelvic-floor-release-in-sittingFind a UK physiotherapist here:  https://thepogp.co.uk/patients/physiotherapists/

Helen speaks to listener, Katie Nicolson, who struggled with stress incontinence after having a severe tear during childbirth two years ago. Katie talks about the shock reality of postpartum recovery, her journey to the 2022 London marathon and the medical professionals from Liverpool Women's Hospital who helped to get her there. She shares the highs and lows of becoming a mum during covid, and her determination to get back to running for the sake of her mental health.'It was honestly amazing. You can't really bottle that feeling and I don't think I'd be able to top it if I ever did another one. I'm just really proud.'Katie is @mummytolondonmarathon on InstagramYou can listen to the episode with ultra-runner Sophie Power here