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Perinatal Pelvic Health

Lancashire and South Cumbria Perinatal Pelvic Health Service

The NHS Long Term Plan committed to improve access to pelvic health physiotherapy and other specialists for all women and pregnant people with pelvic health conditions during their pregnancy and the year following after giving birth and that all women and pregnant people have access to multidisciplinary pelvic health services and pathways across England.

Our Lancashire and South Cumbria (LSC) Perinatal Pelvic Health Services (PPHS) has been developed collaboratively to increase current services and improve the prevention, identification, and treatment of pelvic health conditions during pregnancy and following birth, and ultimately reduce the number of people living with pelvic health conditions postnatally and in later life.

Research shows that one in three women experience urinary incontinence in the first year after having a baby and up to three quarters of these women continue to experience this in the following 12 years after giving birth.

A further one in 10 women experience faecal incontinence and another one in 12 will have a pelvic organ prolapse.

Although a lot of the pelvic health issues experienced by people are common, they are treatable.

Pelvic Health conditions include:

  • Bladder and bowel problems
  • Pelvic floor dysfunction​
  • Perineal trauma
  • Bladder and bowel problems​
  • Pelvic floor dysfunction​
  • Perineal trauma
  • Pelvic organ prolapse​
  • Painful sex/pelvic pain
  • Pregnancy-related pelvic musculo-skeletal problems:​
  • Separation of abdominal muscles (diastasis)
  • Pelvic girdle pain​
  • Back pain
  • And other pregnancy related musculo-skeletal problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome
Our LSC PPHS has increased resources available for ante and postnatal women/birthing people across Lancashire and South Cumbria, including digital and written information and made it easier for to access services like Specialist Perineal Clinics and specialist Pelvic/Women’s Health physiotherapy clinics. Specialists such as physiotherapists, midwives, and doctors and can provide advice and treatment for pelvic health conditions.

The Service will be accessible throughout women’s and pregnant people’s maternity care during their pregnancy and in the year following giving birth. There is also  the option to self-refer.

The LSC PPHS includes:

  • University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
  • East Lancashire NHS Trust
  • Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Useful information and links

For help, advice and information on how to self-refer please follow the links below to your local Trust.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

Useful Resources

Antenatal/during pregnancy

Pregnancy Related Pelvic Girdle Pain For mothers to be and new mothers | POGP

Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises (for women) | POGP

Pelvic floor muscle exercises and advice
– A guide for trans men, trans masculine and non-binary people (who were assigned female at birth) | POGP

Perineal tears and episiotomies in childbirth (rcog.org.uk)

Fit for Pregnancy | POGP

Fit for Birth | POGP (thepogp.co.uk)

Fit and Safe: Exercise in the Childbearing Year | POGP

Video – Pelvic floor muscle training

Video – All ages pelvic floor video

Home Page – Squeezy (squeezyapp.com)

Pelvic Health and Wellbeing during Pregnancy Videos | POGP

Antenatal guidance on perineal massage to reduce perineal tears (rcog.org.uk)

APPEAL Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise Education for Women

Your guide to perineal massage

Please note, any of the POGP leaflets can be accessed in a wide variety of languages by selecting Accessibility and Language Options and selecting the dark blue “change language” tab.

Postnatal/during the year after pregnancy

Please note, new referrals for pelvic girdle pain can only be made during pregnancy.

Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises (for women) | POGP

Pelvic floor muscle exercises and advice
– A guide for trans men, trans masculine and non-binary people (who were assigned female at birth). | POGP

Fit for the Future | POGP

Exercise and Advice After Pregnancy | POGP

Exercise and advice after loss of your baby | POGP

Return to running postnatal guidelines

Perineal tears and episiotomies in childbirth (rcog.org.uk)

Care of a third- or fourth-degree tear that occurred during childbirth (also known as obstetric anal sphincter injury – OASI) (rcog.org.uk)

Home – Aiming to change the lives of women injured during childbirth. (masic.org.uk)

Video – Pelvic floor muscle training

Video – All ages pelvic floor video

Home Page – Squeezy (squeezyapp.com)

Pelvic Health and Wellbeing during Pregnancy Videos | POGP

APPEAL Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise Education for Women

Please note, any of the POGP leaflets can be accessed in a wide variety of languages by selecting Accessibility and Language Options and selecting the dark blue “change language” tab.

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