What is the Pelvic Awareness Project?

The Pelvic Awareness Project is a comprehensive resource for women focused on pelvic health. Women’s pelvic health is a key part of our well-being, but not something we think about until there’s a problem. Education and awareness can help find solutions or avoid concerns in the first place. That’s where the Pelvic Awareness Project can help. You’ll find resources, educational materials, a Physician Finder tool, and more on the Pelvic Awareness Project website.

How the Pelvic Awareness Project Can Help You

It’s easy to take our pelvic health for granted. Women grow up learning about why they have periods, getting pregnant, and other common pelvic topics. Pelvic health encompasses a wide range of aspects, making it a crucial area of study for women. 

The Pelvic Awareness Project was created with a commitment to helping women access the resources they need to understand, treat, and recover from all pelvic health issues. That includes knowing how to maintain good pelvic health.

Since launching in 2016, the people behind the Pelvic Awareness Project have been working to meet the goal of helping more than one million women with pelvic floor disorders. 

Here’s how the Pelvic Awareness Project can help.

Understanding Women’s Pelvic Health

Women’s Pelvic health begins with a well-functioning pelvic floor. 

These important muscles of the pelvic floor perform the following key functions:

• Provide stability for our core
• They are key to bladder and bowel control and function
• Are part of good sexual function
• Play a role in pregnancy and childbirth

Issues can arise when the pelvic floor muscles become weak or damaged. This can happen after pregnancy and childbirth; it can be a regular part of weakened muscles due to aging or menopause; it can occur after injury or surgery.

Weakened pelvic floor muscles can cause discomfort, pain, and health issues like urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse. Pelvic floor dysfunction can also contribute to overactive bladder issues, such as urinary frequency and urgency, pelvic pressure or heaviness, pelvic pain, and sexual problems.¹

Understanding your pelvic floor is important because a strong pelvic floor is the foundation for good bladder, bowel, reproductive, and sexual health.²

Want to know more about pelvic health? Review why your pelvic floor matters and what can go wrong with the pelvic floor.

Pelvic Health Resources for Women

The Pelvic Awareness Project offers resources to help women understand the importance of pelvic floor health, including ways to prevent or manage pelvic health conditions. The goal of the Pelvic Awareness Project is to raise awareness and provide the education women need to prioritize this essential aspect of their health.

The Project is a collaboration of critical partners, including healthcare providers, educators, and organizations. The Project aims to help educate, treat, and provide pelvic health resources.

Here are the vision and mission of the Pelvic Awareness Project: 

1. Vision: To create a world where all women have access to pelvic health education and care.

2. Mission: The Pelvic Awareness Project was developed to empower women across the globe who struggle with pelvic floor disorders. The mission is to ensure that each woman has the tools she needs to maintain and improve her pelvic health and receives the information she needs to pursue the therapeutic treatment options that are best for her.

The partners work together to shift the conversation on pelvic floor health and ensure every woman has the resources and support to live a healthy, confident life. By working around the globe to provide treatment and education to women, the Pelvic Awareness Project has served 40 countries and treated almost 200,000 patients. 

The wealth of resources available on the website has supported many more, providing education and awareness about the importance of pelvic health, along with tools to understand pelvic issues.

Physician Finder

One of the key resources of the Pelvic Awareness Project is this Physician Finder, a tool you can use to find a doctor with expertise in women’s health by searching the directory of pelvic health physicians and specialists near you. 

Use the interactive map or enter your location, select a specialty to find a specific type of physician, or search by conditions treated. You can even choose a specific language spoken to select a doctor.

The Physician Finder Tool helps you easily connect with qualified professionals, including urogynecologists, pelvic physical therapists, and other healthcare providers who can support your health goals.

How is Your Pelvic Health?

If you’re not sure where to start, or you’re uncertain what could be wrong, start by taking this Pelvic Floor Health Quiz on the Pelvic Awareness Project website. 

By answering a few simple questions, you’ll get a sense of where you might go for help. Results might suggest it’s time to see a gynecologist, for instance, to deal with what could be a pelvic health concern.

Pelvic Health Education for Women

The Pelvic Awareness Project also has a vast virtual “library” of resources on the website, with blogs and content to uplift and support you through every stage of life and throughout your pelvic floor health journey.

You’ll find articles created to empower you with valuable information, enabling you to make healthy choices, take steps for the prevention of issues, or seek guidance for an existing issue.

Here are some examples of what you’ll find on the Pelvic Awareness Project website:

• Articles about specific pelvic floor health concerns, like endometriosis, stress urinary incontinence, fibroids, and pelvic organ prolapse.
• Information geared to pelvic health, including prevention advice, steps to properly use a pessary, and how to perform pelvic muscle exercises known as Kegels. 
• Wellness articles like mental health guidance, nutrition tips, or exercise advice.

Women's Pelvic Health is Important

It’s estimated that up to 1 in 3 women over age 20 have some form of pelvic floor dysfunction. The number could actually be higher, since many women are embarrassed to discuss their concerns or consider them a regular part of aging.¹ If you’re one of those women, you’re not alone, and you should see a doctor for diagnosis and treatment. 

Thanks to the efforts of the Pelvic Awareness Project and others, women’s pelvic health is receiving more attention, with increased awareness about the importance of pelvic well-being. 

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1- https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pelvic-floor-disorder-awareness/

2- https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/why-pelvic-health-important

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