About Us

Women's Health Initiative has been founded by Ingrid Louise. 

We provide information and support for women, and men, about a health issue that remains a taboo subject. 

One in Three women suffers from some form of Urinary Incontinence.  This is an issue that affects so many women and yet it remains one of the unspoken health issues in our community. 

A number of incidents have led to the creation of Women's Health Initiative.  Ingrid’s first personal experience with Urinary Incontinence occurred when she first started work; she was reprimanded by her supervisor for taking “too many pee breaks”.  She decided right then that this would never happen again and began the life long ritual of strengthening her pelvic floor muscles.  Over the following years she has been aware of women suffering from similar work place disciplinary issues.  As a educator Ingrid has promoted health and well being issues.

A critical event in early 2009 changed the lives of everyone in Ingrid's family; Ingrid’s mother was fitted with a colostomy bag when her bowel was inadvertently perforated during a routine colonoscopy.  This created a chain of events that has led to Ingrid creating the Women's Health Initiative.

As Ingrid sought information and support for her mother she became aware of how difficult it was to access useful, easily understood information; information about what was happening for her mother specifically and information about Pelvic Health in general.

People spoke in hushed tones about prolapsed organs, damaged pelvic floors, urinary and faecal incontinence.  The more people she spoke to, the more prevalent she found the issue to be.  People resigned themselves to this being how they had to live their lives; this was their new normal.

And this is not just as issue for elderly people.

One out of every three women at the age of 30 who have had a baby suffers from Urinary Incontinence.  Women just accepted this leakage as “part of what happens to women”.

Ingrid is a skilled Facilitator and Educator with more than 20 years working in Training and Development, including health related subjects.   Ingrid is passionate about making information available to people in a format that is accurate and easily understandable.  Thus inspired, she has created Womens' Health Initiative. 

Our aim is to:

• make information easily understandable to all women
• use every day language to explain anatomical and medical terminology i.e. to explain about the body and how it works
• make this easily understood information available to all women
• demystify the misinformation about women's pelvic health
• encourage all women to make informed choices about their own pelvic health
• create simple to follow rituals for women to include easily in their daily lives
  
• encourage Pelvic Floor Strength and Bladder Control for woman at every age
• highlight the "danger behaviours" so that women can be smart about what they choose not to do, as well as what they will do, with their bodies.
• eliminate the need for embarrassment and fear and
  
• encourage freedom to laugh and cough with confidence