With one in three mums experiencing urinary incontinence three months after pregnancy and 60% of women reporting at least one symptom of poor pelvic health, it’s clear that something has to change.
That’s why Elvie is on a mission to remove the taboo from all things pelvic health and get women talking.
In a bid to raise awareness of the issue, the women’s health brand headed to Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner to discuss pelvic health, with influencer and social media activist Emily Clarkson among those who took to the soapbox.
Speaking exclusively to OK!, the mum-of-one, who welcomed baby Arlo Rose into the world in February 2023, opened up about the importance of speaking about pelvic health and the need for women to stop accepting issues such as urinary incontinence as something that they need to accept after becoming a parent.
“I knew so little about what was going on with my body, during and after pregnancy and after ending up with an emergency c-section I truthfully just assumed I wouldn’t have any problems at all. I thought not weeing myself would be a silver lining to the situation,” she said.
“As I started to return to fitness postpartum, I realised that it doesn’t matter the way you give birth, your pelvic floor is involved and most likely going to need a bit of training to get it back to normal. I found myself in some discomfort with bladder control being not nearly as strong as it once had been. I literally had no idea what to do or any anticipation that this would be me.”
Having experienced it herself, Emily is keen to stress that women don’t have to accept pelvic health issues after giving birth as something that’s simply part of the “process”.
She continued, “For a long time, leaking has been the accepted reality of motherhood, all part of the beautiful process and, like so many other things, something women just have to accept. When in reality, they don’t.”
Though when many people think of women suffering from pelvic health issues they may think of images of women trying not to laugh too hard or avoiding jumping on trampolines, this isn’t what it always looks like. For some it can be life-changing, Emily explains.
“This issue can be completely life-changing for some women who no longer feel able to exercise or have the confidence to be out in public in the same way. We don’t take it seriously enough as a condition which is why so many women suffer in silence, and thus the cycle continues,” she stated.
Moving forward, Emily is determined to get women of all ages training their pelvic floor muscles, just as they would any other muscle in their body. And, if we know anything, we know that change is possible.
“Let’s smash the taboo and speak up for ourselves so that it’s easier to talk about and we can all start training our pelvic floors at a younger age. It’s a muscle like any other, and not one we need to talk about in hushed tones,” she said.
“Women need to know themselves, know their normal, and be taken seriously when they feel they are straying from that. Which is why I hope that we’ll see further commitment from the powers that be - so that women are taken more seriously by healthcare professionals and offered treatment when they do need it.”
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