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 Darr ..read more

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 ..read more

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 di ..read more

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 ..read more

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 abo ..read more

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 ..read more

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 bow ..read more

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 wh ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more