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 bladd...

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 Haye...

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 inform...

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 fl...

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 e...

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 birt...

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 Macdona...

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 an...

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 exe...

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 includi...

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 fel...

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 s...

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 & Gy...

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 L...

<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 descr...

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...

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...

<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...

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...

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 he...

The gender health gap . It's a phrase we're hearing more and more and is relevant around the world. So what's it all about and what does it mean for those of us with pelvic floor dysfunction?  Helen chats to the award-winning health journalist, Sarah Graham, founder of the Hysterical Women blog, which looks at inequalities in women's health, and author of a new book on the gender health gap, due o...

Crazy times at WMDJ HQ so no full episode this week, sorry! Instead, here's something to make you smile from a listener, psychotherapist and poet, Jacky Power (aka The Therapeutic Poet). Normal service resumes next week! Jacky hosts The Therapeutic Poet podcast. Her first collection of poetry is available here .  

Pelvic floor problems are surrounded by stigma and shame, but have you ever wondered why? Why do we find anything remotely related to our genitalia so embarrassing? And if we didn't, what difference would it make to how we feel? Helen meets Dr Catherine Blackledge, a scientist, journalist, sex and fertility education advocate and author. In 2003 she published a book to celebrate everything about t...

Diastasis recti is where the muscles that run down the middle of your stomach separate during pregnancy. It's really common and usually goes back to normal within eight weeks of delivery, but sometimes it doesn't. And it can lead to back problems and hernia - both things that Niki Odogwu has been dealing with since her daughters were born, as well as stress urinary incontinence.  In this episode,...

It's a big day in Helen's pessary saga! After a year-long wait to be fitted for a vaginal pessary, she's offered a private appointment with a specialist in London.  In this episode, you'll hear what happens at a pessary fitting when Helen visits Tracey Matthews - a women's health physio, former British rower, strong woman, cross fitter and proud pessary wearer. She's passionate about the benefits...