A chat with Missy Lavender about uresta®
We asked a well-known women’s pelvic health evangelist and national speaker on public health, Missy Lavender, if she could talk to us about women’s pelvic health and uresta®, a relatively new product to help women manage stress urinary incontinence (SUI).
Missy, a passionate advocate for pelvic health education, fitness and programs for all women and girls, was happy to share her views.
Q: What are your first impressions of uresta® ?
Missy: The thing I most appreciate about uresta® is the ability for women to have control over their bodies with the sizing kit. When it comes to pessaries, the size is important and the sizing is not what you’d think! Being able to find the size that works for you puts managing incontinence back in the hands of women. They can get the uresta® starter kit, try it – they don’t have to go to the doctor or go back to the doctor to achieve a proper fit.
Q: How does uresta® stack up against other options for tackling SUI?
Missy: I love that uresta® is reusable & comfortable – some pessaries can be really uncomfortable. Being reusable, you save so much money over other products that are disposable. This “green factor” keeps so much waste out of the landfill.
It’s very exciting to see companies creating truly innovative products for women who experience light bladder leakage (LBL) (aka SUI). uresta® is both innovative and good – another great tool in your tool kit.
Q: What are some of the misconceptions about SUI?
Missy: Women seem to think that SUI is normal – because they’ve had a baby, they’re getting older, because they are woman. You don’t have to accept incontinence. SUI is common but not normal and there are options to minimize it. There is no magic pill. Understanding your body is important.
Women easily get defeated by incontinence and start shutting down their life. They need to understand what is happening and find out all the possible solutions to deal with the issue.
I’ve always felt that physiotherapy is a great first line option for maintaining pelvic health. Nobody loves kegels but they work when you do them! If you are unsure you are doing them correctly, or need a coach, this is where your physiotherapist or your doctor come in.
Q: Tell us more about your most recent project, Below Your Belt.
Missy: We recently published a book, Below Your Belt: A Girl’s Guide To Pelvic Health and our website (belowyourbelt.org) has just been launched. So now we’re fundraising to create an app aimed at young girls but with a message that everyone needs to know. You can read more about the project here.
We want to educate girls about their own body; including everything that happens below the belt; bladder, bowel, periods, hygiene – it’s pelvic health 101. This app is important – it will bring the information to the small screens of our key target audience – 10-14 year-old girls. (And yes, some of the grown-ups don’t know this stuff either!) Below Your Belt is changing the world one pelvic floor at a time!
More about Missy Lavender
Missy was the Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Health Foundation, passionate advocates for pelvic health education, fitness and programs to all women and girls before launching Below Your Belt. Missy is a national speaker on pelvic health and has been featured in numerous press outlets, print, radio, and television, recently featured as one of Chicago’s top 100 “Women of Inspiration,” in Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine.
She is the author of four books, You Go Girl…But Only When You Want To! and You Go Girl…But Only When You Want To! Senior Edition, Below Your Belt and Riding the Potty Train: Better Bathroom Behaviors for Little Girls.
A mother of two, Ms. Lavender holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
About uresta®
The uresta® bladder support gives you back your life – it helps significantly reduce or stop leaks so you can start living again. The uresta® bladder support is a safe, simple and easy-to-use reusable that significantly reduces or stops leaks. In clinical studies, 17 out of 20 saw a significant reduction in leaking while leaks were completely eliminated for 6 out of 10 women.