22 August 2022

A new perinatal pelvic health service is now ‘live’ within Frimley Health. As part of this new service, all midwives now screen for pelvic floor dysfunction risk factors and symptoms.

Women are shown where to access our resources on the Frimley Health and Care website and, dependent on their risk factors, are invited to our new pelvic health perinatal workshops.

The new resources on the Frimley Health and Care website, including:

• Videos on how to do pelvic floor muscle exercises 
• Advice on safe exercise in pregnancy, including pregnancy exercise videos
• How to return to activity after birth, including post birth exercise videos from day 1 – week 6 and beyond. These Pilates classes are suitable for most people.

This new service enables GPs to refer women with pelvic floor dysfunction during pregnancy and / or within 12 months of birth to the Perinatal Pelvic Health Service. 

This service is provided by specialist pelvic health physiotherapists, working closely with the multi-disciplinary team, with the option of onward referral to consultant care if required. We offer a range of classes, and one-to-one appointments.

We have also been training health visitors in pelvic health and they are also able to refer to pelvic health physiotherapy.

Jenny Sheppard and Catherine Ross, advanced practice physiotherapists in pelvic health, who were recently shortlisted for the coveted ‘Public Health Champion Awards,’ part of the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (CAHPO) awards, are looking forward to continuing to grow this new service and tackling the taboo subject of pelvic floor dysfunction (incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and sexual dysfunction), and preventing incidence for the future.