I was asked this question recently by a female publisher of a local woman’s magazine and it gave me pause - “Does she really not understand how important this is?,” I thought to myself.  Clearly not.

 The “it” I was talking to her about is what we do here at WHF; what my life is all about - the quest to help women love their pelvis’s, regain their pelvic health and fitness and really be fit, sexy & in control!  Did I somehow offend her?  Why didn’t she get it?

 I am the Executive Director of the Women’s Health Foundation.  I am also a bladder control patient - my pelvic health is always on my mind.  Because it needs to be!  You can read my story on our website, but just know that I am also a Pelvic Floor Evangelist.  I view every conversation I have as the opportunity to get women thinking about their own pelvic health, mostly because I know we are not embracing our pelvic health like we embrace the rest of our overall health.  When this woman asked me this question, the question I thought most about later was, “How can I be, how can we be here at WHF that will make women like this interested?” 

 This woman represents one of the primary targets for our work - women over 50.  OK, she had never had children, she obstensively did not have issues with bladder control or constipation or sexual dysfunction, but she was at least on the other side of menopause.  Statistically, she is likely to have an upfront and personal experience around her bladder in the very near future and judging from what she told me, she wasn’t doing a thing to potentially prevent that encounter from being a negative one.  She needed to be listening to me; she needed to start working on her pelvic health, and yet she couldn’t even imagine why I would be talking about “…things like this.”  Hmmmmmm!?

I don’t have all the answers yet, but I am thinking about that woman every day.  How can we “seduce” women to want to be excited about their pelvic health?  How can we encourage women to talk about this stuff with their doctors, girlfriends, sisters & daughters when things start to go wrong, before they end up with wildly out of control bladders? 

 Your thoughts would be really helpful.  What words would you use if you were me to talk to someone about her pelvic health?  Clearly not “incontinence,” but maybe it should be all about sex, right?  After all, the pelvic floor muscles, for example, are are muscles of “sexual appreciation,” to quote of our favorite people in this business!  Working them out increases blood flow to the area and that can do wonders for your sex life (that’s, YOURS, not just your partner’s!).

 Let me know if you have any brainstorms and I’ll keep thinking, too and get back to you.

Next time I want to talk about letting the guys in on what’s going on for us “down there…..” 

 Yours in pelvic health,

Missy

The word “incontinent” is such an icky word. When I hear it - I think of an old lady with pantyhose falling down at her ankles. That is definitely NOT me! I’m active, I’m young! My fashionable fishnets stay up around my waist, I smell like Chanel -NOT mothballs, and a good night out involves beers and maybe a pool game, not bridge and warm milk.  But here I am a 26 year old female leaking urine when I jog, cough, sneeze - basically, anything strenuous.  What gives?!

When I mentioned my “condition” (blech - that’s an icky word too) to my mother, she told me that this is just something that happens to women when they get older,

“Just deal with it, honey! It’s a part of growing older…”, she sighed.

WHAT?!  You’re telling me that there are 1 in 3 women (yes, it’s true - I looked it up online) that are quietly sneaking pads in and out of their handbags and are making secret prayers that last sneeze didn’t make a dark spot in her pants?! And they’re keeping it a secret?!  We’re WOMEN, for crying out loud! My girlfriends know an embarrassing amount of information on me and I, in turn, have loads on them. As women we share, we laugh, we cry, we are sisters….but for some reason, we are too embarrassed to tell our best girlfriends that we are “leakers.”

Well, I’m not keeping it a secret. I’m telling. I’m sharing. And I’m doing something about this.  I’m taking back control of my life. I’m watching my diet, I’m squeezing before sneezing, and I’m strengthening my pelvic pyramid every chance I can get.  Let’s talk about it, ladies.  It’s time to get the word out.