Good evening, Ladies! This evening SuzyKnew! is sharing Fertility Friday’s latest podcast on healing from painful sex and bladder leakage.

So many women experience bladder leakage that you may already have the impression that it’s a normal part of life.

Experiencing bladder leakage when coughing, sneezing, or working out — though common — shouldn’t be considered normal!

If you haven’t personally experience bladder leakage, you’ve probably heard the “jokes” about it? Like, “I laughed so hard I peed a little.” Not sure if this joke is actually funny, but loss of bladder control is one of the signs of pelvic floor dysfunction.

Your pelvic floor are a group of muscles and connective tissues that support a variety of organs in your pelvis including your bladder, bowels, and uterus. Your pelvic floor muscles hold these organs in place while also facilitating key functions like urination, bowel movements, sexual function and more.

Pelvic floor dysfunction is a general term for a host of symptoms related to pelvic floor health that can affect the bladder, bowel, uterus, vagina, or a combination of these.

In addition to bladder leakage, symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction include various bladder and bowel issues, pelvic pain, painful sex, and pelvic organ prolapse.

An estimated 25% of women have some form of pelvic floor disorder. And at least 1 in 10 women will develop symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction severe enough to warrant surgery during her lifetime.

Given how common pelvic floor dysfunction is, it’s terrifying how little most of us know about pelvic floor physiotherapy to improve symptoms.

Lifestyle factors play a role in the development of pelvic floor dysfunction, such as pregnancy and childbirth, advancing age, obesity, menopause, and medical conditions including diabetes, depression, constipation, and urinary tract infections (UTIs).

The good news is that many women experience an improvement or complete resolution of symptoms through pelvic floor physical therapy.

This issue is definitely on Fertility Friday Lisa Hendrickson-Jack’s radar at the moment, having just gone through pregnancy and childbirth with baby #3.  Lisa had a few questions and concerns after delivery and fortunately her pelvic floor PT pointed her in the right direction, giving her various exercises to strengthen her pelvic floor as her  body heals from pregnancy and birth.

Click here for Fertility Friday’s podcast with Dr. Melissa Thompson to learn more about recovering from pelvic floor dysfunction.