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:
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.
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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.
In this week’s episode, Helen does a spot of myth-busting with US-based pelvic health physical therapist, Dr. Carrie Pagliano. Carrie hosts the Active Mom Podcast and is brilliant on Instagram where she makes evidence-based information accessible to all.
Helen and Carrie talk about the changing face of pelvic health, how hormones might affect your pelvic floor issues and when vaginal oestrogen might help. They discuss gaps in research and the age old question - to kegel, or not to kegel?
You can find Dr. Carrie Pagliano’s website here and follow her on Instagram here
You can listen to Helen speaking to Carrie on the Active Mom Podcast here
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.
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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.
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!
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.
In this roller coaster of an episode Hayley tells Helen about her journey to find the support she needed, how she's feeling about her second pregnancy, and how a change of mindset has made a big difference. They talk about the German healthcare system, about pessaries and pelvic physiotherapy...and how to handle yourself in a grocery store!
I texted my wife and said I think my pelvic floor has just fallen through my ass. I knew instantly this was not good.Hayley is @theschoenbergfamily on Instagram
Find out more about pessaries in this episode of the podcast, as well as this episode of the podcast and in this Instagram live
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!
When we talk about pelvic floor problems after childbirth, you can't escape the fact that many women don't get the birth they wanted or signed up for. A difficult experience can leave you feeling distressed, anxious or traumatised, but how often do you really get to reflect on what happened? And might it be something worth exploring?
Illiyin Morrison is a birth trauma specialist midwife and a birth debrief facilitator. Illiyin supports women to overcome a difficult perinatal experience - whether that's pregnancy, birth or postpartum. She's the author of The Birth Debrief and a mum-of-two, who you might know from Instagram as @mixing.up.motherhood.
In this episode, Helen and Illiyin discuss what we mean by a birth debrief, who it's for and why it may - or may not - be a useful tool. They talk about how we define trauma, how we begin to pick up the pieces, and how sometimes feeling heard is enough.
You can find Illiyin's book, The Birth Debrief: Reflecting on pregnancy, reframing birth, redefining post-partum, here
You can find Illiyin's website here
For more support with birth trauma check out:
You can find further resources for pelvic floor dysfunction here
In a previous episode, Helen discussed the mental health implications of pelvic floor dysfunction with perinatal psychiatrist, Dr Rebecca Moore. You can listen here.
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!
Bowel incontinence, also known as faecal incontinence, is estimated to affect up to one in ten women after childbirth. More if you include those who can’t hold wind, which may sound trivial but can obviously be pretty mortifying. Severe tears in childbirth are a common cause; third and fourth degree tears - which affect the muscle around the anus.
In this episode, Helen is joined by Erica Macdonald - a listener who lives in Devon with her husband and three-year-old daughter. Erica was diagnosed with an anal injury - a severe tear - after her daughter was born and has been living with bowel incontinence ever since. She talks about the impact it's had on her life, her struggle to access support and her decision to take control of her own story:
'You know when you're pregnant and you wear a badge on the Tube? It's like me wearing a badge saying 'my bum doesn't work'. And I own that. For me it just works so much better.'You can find out more about Sacral Nerve Stimulation here
You can find the MASIC foundation here
Listen to the Why Mums Don't Jump episode: Sara's Story here
NICE guidelines recommend that all women who have had a vaginal birth should be offered a post birth rectal examination. Find out more >
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!
How do you get the most out of your GP appointment if you have symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction? Whether it's urinary incontinence, bowel incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, sexual dysfunction or chronic pelvic pain - how do you maximise your (all-too-brief) consultation to get the help you need?
In this episode Helen speaks to Dr Aziza Sesay, a GP with a special interest in women’s health and an educator, who shares evidence-based health information on social media and through her website: ‘Talks with Dr. Sesay'.
Dr Aziza explains how to help your doctor help you - with suggestions on what to prepare, what questions to ask and what to do if you feel you're not being listened to. She lifts the lid on vaginal examinations and reimagines a world where women's health is made a priority. Oh and there's a farting chair. Yep.
Dr Aziza is @talkswithdrsesay on Instagram
You can find the the NICE guidelines for the prevention, assessment and non-surgical management of pelvic floor dysfunction here
You can read more about Perinatal Pelvic Health Services here
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!
Helen speaks to Holly Puddephatt, a content creator from Leeds, host of the podcast Me, Myself & Mum Life and mum to toddler, Thea.
Holly discovered she had pelvic organ prolapse in October last year, two years after her daughter was born. Like so many of us, she'd never heard of it and was terrified about what it would mean, especially as someone with a huge passion for exercise.
'I love exercise. It's a massive part of my life...and I was reading all this stuff online saying you can't run, you can't do this or that. And for me, that would be like ripping my legs off. That's how it felt.'
In this episode, Holly describes how she set about reclaiming her life: absorbing as much information as she could, seeking out the support of a pelvic health physiotherapist, practising hypopressives and sourcing a pessary, as well as sharing her journey on social media.
Holly is @hollyandthea on Instagram
Find out more about pessaries in this episode of the podcast
Find out more about hypopressives in this episode of the podcast
Find out more about returning to exercise with prolapse in this episode of the podcast
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!
Everywoman is back!
After a sparkling launch in 2023, the Everywoman Festival is returning to Cardiff on Saturday June 15th, 2024!
The festival is about offering empowerment, support and education on health topics that may be difficult or considered taboo to talk about. This year there'll be a whopping six tents, with more than sixty expert speakers, drop-ins and workshops covering topics including menopause, pelvic health, sexual health, IBS, endometriosis, gender health inequalities, cancer survivorship and chronic conditions, as well as drop-in sessions, support groups, music, street food, burlesque and booby pompons!
Helen is an ambassador for the festival and in this special, bonus episode she's joined by fellow ambassadors: the GP and health educator Dr Aziza Sesay; pelvic health physiotherapist and creator of #SqueezeAlong, Suzanne Vernazza; Love Your Period founder and an activist living with a brain tumour, Molly Fenton; and Everywoman founder and colorectal consultant, Julie Cornish. They share their highlights from 2023 and what they're looking forward to this year.
You can buy tickets from The Everywoman Festival website
You can follow @theeverywomanfestival on Instagram
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 website
You 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 here
Alice 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 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!
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 Instagram
Shakira's book: The Strong Like Mum Method is available here
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like this one, with pelvic health physio, Emma Brockwell
The 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!
This episode is sponsored by The Mummy MOT - a specialist postnatal examination for women following vaginal or c-section deliveries. It’s an hour-long assessment to look at your posture, pelvic floor and stomach muscles to get you back on track with your fitness goals…and your life! Find out more at themummymot.com
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 here
For 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 here
You can find the Cumberlege report (IMMDS Review) here
For 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 Twitter
The Female Fitness Academy, mentioned by Sarah is now called Sigma Woman and can be found here
Listen to Helen on BBC 5 live here (available until 14/4/23)
Please see the Resources page for support
You 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 Twitter
For more information about persistent pelvic pain and pelvic floor muscle relaxation strategies, please see the links below
https://www.pelvicpain.org.au/
https://vulvalpainsociety.org/
https://www.jillybond.com/blog/pelvic-floor-release-in-sitting
Find 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 Instagram
You can listen to the episode with ultra-runner Sophie Power here
