By Michael Foli Jackidy
Ho (V/R), Aug. 16, GNA – As August marks Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Awareness Month, the Physiotherapy Students’ Association of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (PHYSA-UHAS), in collaboration with the Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH), has embarked on an intensive awareness campaign targeting pregnant women and midwives in the Volta Region.
The maiden campaign, held at the Ho Polyclinic, was themed “Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: Awareness, Care and Prevention” and aimed to break the silence around a condition that many women endure in secrecy.
Leading the campaign, Ms. Ellen Mensa-Bonsu, a physiotherapist, explained that pregnancy brings significant physical changes to a woman’s body, especially to the pelvic floor muscles.
These muscles support the bladder, uterus, and rectum, while also ensuring continence.
“During pregnancy, these muscles stretch to allow the baby to grow, but this can lead to a loss of elasticity. Some women may experience urinary or faecal incontinence, or even prolapse, where the uterus partially slips out of place,” she said.
Ms. Mensa-Bonsu stressed that many women suffer in silence because they believe these symptoms are a natural part of motherhood, or they fear stigma due to odour, leakage, or discomfort. Others are simply unaware that medical help exists.
“As part of this month’s awareness drive, we are telling pregnant women and midwives that these conditions are treatable,” she said.
She said at the Ho Teaching Hospital, physiotherapists, doctors, and midwives can offer tailored exercises and therapies to restore pre-pregnancy function.
These interventions can even improve sexual health after childbirth, dispelling the misconception that intimacy must be compromised after delivery.
She urged women not to normalise or hide symptoms—whether urinary leakage, faecal leakage, fistula, or sexual discomfort—but to seek professional care promptly.
This first-ever pelvic floor awareness outreach in the Volta Region will cover three facilities: including the Ho Polyclinic, Ho Municipal Hospital on August 21, and Worawora in the Oti Region on August 28.
Ms. Mensa-Bonsu noted that rural and semi-rural communities, where home deliveries are common, often lack access to such education, leaving many women vulnerable to preventable complications.
On behalf of the facility, Ms. Regina Gbekle, Midwifery Officer, expressed gratitude to the team.
“This programme is very educative for both pregnant women and midwives. It has filled gaps in our antenatal education and will help us improve how we counsel expectant mothers on pelvic floor care,” she said.
She encouraged pregnant women to openly discuss any symptoms with health professionals rather than keeping them private.
“If you don’t tell us, we may not know you are suffering. Confiding in us is the first step to getting the help you need,” she advised.
Some pregnant women who spoke to the GNA after the programme said they had learned practical exercises and preventive measures that they would continue practicing at home for better health during pregnancy and after childbirth.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Benjamin Mensah