Pelvic floor disorders, or PFDs, affect 10% to 11% of women. They’re common but they’re not normal, and specialists called urogynecologists are trained to help. So, why are women reluctant to seek medical aid when something’s going on down there?
“I think it’s because our moms and our grandmas tell us that that’s OK, that’s just what happens,” said Dr. Susan Oakley, director of female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery with St. Elizabeth Physicians. “You have two kids so, yeah, you’re going to leak a little bit when you sneeze or cough or, yeah, you’re going to be in the bathroom all the time.”
What Oakley wants women to know is that PFDs can be fixed and they don’t always have to be fixed by surgery.
“Let’s overcome what our families are telling us and our own personal fears and just talk about these things,” Oakley said.
So, what is the pelvic floor?
It’s a network of muscles, ligaments and tissues that support the organs in the pelvis: the uterus, vagina, bladder, urethra and rectum. If the pelvic floor becomes weak, prolapse (or dropping down) of the bladder, urethra, small intestine, rectum, urethra or bladder is possible.
Who is most likely to have a PFD?
- Women who have had a baby, especially if the delivery was vaginal.
- Women who are obese.
- Women who have had a hysterectomy.
- Women who are older.
- Women who frequently do things that increase pressure in the abdomen, such as weightlifting or straining during bowel movements.
Here are the taboo ailments “urogynes” treat”
The bladder
- Incontinence (urine leakage)
- Interstitial cystitis (bladder pain)
- Recurrent UTIs
- Blood in the urine
The vagina
- Prolapse (vaginal hernia)
- Pain
- Pain during intercourse
- Dryness
- Sexual dysfunction
The rectum
- Incontinence
- Fecal urgency
Most PFDs are the result of childbirth. The more children a woman gives birth to, in fact, the higher her likelihood of developing a pelvic floor disorder.
And, while statistics show that one in 11 women will need surgery during their lifetime to repair a PFD, “Women shouldn’t fear coming to see a specialist for these issues because a lot of what we do is just conversation and reassurance,” Oakley said. “Women want to feel normal, like everyone else, but I wish they knew it’s not normal to live in the bathroom, it’s not normal to have a vaginal hernia and that sex after children can be comfortable and pleasurable.”
