NICE Guidelines - Teach Girls About Their Pelvic Floor In School

JIf you follow us on social media then you will probably already know what today’s blog is all about. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has released a draft of some of their news guidance all about pelvic floor health and pelvic floor education. Most excitingly they state that girls aged 12 to 17 should be taught about their pelvic floor and how to exercise it in school during sex education sessions. 

My goal

Anyone that knows me will know that for a long time now, one of my goals is to get pelvic floor education into schools for boys and girls from the ages of 14. Professor Gillian Leng, chief executive of NICE says “improving women’s awareness of pelvic floor health and encouraging them to practice pelvic floor muscle exercises throughout their lives is the most effective way to prevent pelvic floor dysfunction” and she is absolutely right. It is fabulous to see a major health body like NICE finally talking about pelvic floor health and how education is the key to preventing pelvic floor dysfunction.

The importance of pelvic floor education

I talk about this a lot but pelvic floor dysfunction like incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse and sexual dysfunction causes crippling mental symptoms as well as the obvious physical ones. Pelvic floor dysfunction brings embarrassment and shame as well as isolation to those suffering. This can have a knock on effect in your personal life by disturbing your sex life, exercise routine or other hobbies or in your professional life because of your personal limitations.

People suffering with pelvic floor problems have much higher rates of depression and anxiety than the general population. New mothers who suffer with leakage issues have a 50% increased chance of developing postnatal depression. Current statistics state that 50% of women have weak pelvic floor issues (I know that this is a lot higher because many are too ashamed to talk about it and see help and support). Statistics like this really speak for themselves and this is why it’s so important we bring this education into schools and to break down the taboo of talking about these problems.

Evidence has shown that bladder leaks do happen to young women in high school. High-impact sports like gymnastics puts massive pressure on the pelvic floor. For these young women, they are too ashamed to talk about it let alone seek help. They then ignore it and it eventually gets worse

Final thoughts...

This is a MASSIVE win for us and our children.