Spotlight on women’s health

The Continence Foundation of Australia has joined in the awareness activities and celebrations of Jean Hailes for Women’s Health’s annual Women’s Health Week (2-6 September). 

National Women’s Health Week is a time dedicated to all women across Australia to make good health a priority.

Good health means something different to everyone, and each day of Women’s Health Week has a unique focus: movement, bathroom business, reproductive health, chest and breast health and mental health.

Bathroom business

Bladder, bowel and pelvic health are important aspects of women’s health. In Australia, incontinence is a significant women’s health issue. In fact, women make up 80% of people with urinary incontinence, and at least four million women in Australia are impacted by incontinence. 

There is much that can be done to treat, better manage and even cure incontinence – starting with pelvic floor exercises. Regular pelvic floor exercises can help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which are vital for supporting the bladder, bowel and pelvic organs.  

A recent Jean Hailes Women’s Health Survey showed almost all women knew of pelvic floor muscle exercises and could feel their muscles working when they tried to lift and squeeze their pelvic floor.

But the survey found that making pelvic floor exercises a daily habit – like brushing teeth –  remains a challenge for many women, with less than 20% of women doing their pelvic floor exercises daily.

To learn more about continence and the pelvic floor, call the National Continence Helpline 1800 33 00 66. And don’t forget that you can do your pelvic floor exercises anywhere and anytime – even right here, right now!

Find more on women’s health at jeanhailes.org.au