Preventing the misery and cost of incontinence for new mums
A new poll conducted for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has found that large numbers of women stay silent about incontinence after childbirth because they are too embarrassed to seek help.
One in two women responding to the survey conducted by Netmums for the CSP and RCM, said they had never spoken to anyone about their problem and three quarters said they had never sought help from a health professional for the easily-treatable condition.
Six in ten said they felt the subject was ‘taboo’ and 56 per cent said they felt embarrassed about the problem, with 16 per cent feeling ashamed about it.
The CSP and RCM are launching a joint initiative to prevent incontinence among women following pregnancy and birth and to ensure those that need treatment are quickly referred, reducing the misery experienced by many, and the need for more costly interventions such as surgery.
The joint physio and midwife-led initiative aims to ensure women are made more aware of the importance of pelvic health to prevent incontinence and are proactively taught how to exercise and maintain their pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy and beyond.
In addition, with many suffering in silence for years following pregnancy and birth, the RCM and CSP are encouraging GP’s, nurses and health visitors to proactively promote advice on continence and to make quick referrals for those experiencing leakage.
The pelvic floor muscle exercises are clearly explained in a new leaflet produced by CSP and the RCM along with a video which provides expert advice from a midwife and specialist women’s health physiotherapist, on both prevention and treatment.
The video also features an interview with a patient who was successfully treated for incontinence after a referral to a specialist physiotherapist. These resources are free to download at csp.org.uk/pregnancy
The CSP has also produced a Physiotherapy Works briefing outlining how physiotherapy is clinically and cost effective in the treatment urinary incontinence, which can be downloaded at csp.org.uk/publications/physiotherapy-works-urinary-incontinence
Ruth Ten Hove, professional adviser at the CSP, said: “Continence issues can take a terrible toll on people’s lives, as this survey shows.
“Understandably, people find it a difficult subject to discuss and don’t seek help, which can cause the problem to worsen.
“But it doesn’t need to be this way – physiotherapists are experts in treating the condition and can make a big difference.
“We want the NHS to make it easier to access these services, but we are also working with midwives to help more women avoid developing the problems in the first place.”
Jacque Gerrard, RCM director for England said: “For women with incontinence their whole day is planned around being able to stay close to a toilet and without help these problems will only continue to get worse.
“During pregnancy women are generally more receptive to health messages so this is an ideal time when midwives can be proactive in discussing prevention.”