Nordic Fit Mama: Post Natal Training Programme

Market and competition review followed by interviews at NHS-funded pilot sites allowed  Medipex to assess appetite for the Post Natal Training Programme in the NHS.

The clinical need

Many women are not aware of the potential pelvic floor dysfunction after having a baby. That includes urinary incontinence, faecal incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse. Some of the dysfunctions are very common. For example, 1 in 3 women in the UK suffers from urinary incontinence in the first year after birth. 75% of these women will continue to experience these problems beyond one year. Yet, no national training programmes focus on post-natal pelvic floor health.

Project challenge

Nordic Fit Mama offers pelvic floor online exercise videos with instructions, and support from a professional. The product was assessed in a study led by the Department of Nursing, University of Turku, Finland and the efficacy was demonstrated based on self-reported well-being. The company was interested to know whether there was an appetite for their product in the NHS. Specifically, whether women post-birth benefit from pelvic floor health support and whether there is a precedent and/or appetite for the NHS to commission this type of service. The work was funded by the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC) at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU).

How did Medipex help?

Medipex conducted a market and competition review, one of the outputs of which was the identification of a recently launched national initiative, led by the NHS, to improve access to post-natal care. This included 14 NHS funded pilot sites, set up to investigate how to introduce changes for the best patient benefit. Medipex targeted the pilot sites through structured surveys to understand how post-natal physiotherapy services are delivered, which led to a series of interviews with NHS program leads and physiotherapists providing an insight into the delivery of their work.

‘The findings of the report confirmed that globally new mothers feel left alone and require more help post-birth. The digital ways of delivering such help would be time- and cost-effective. The results confirmed that the need is real and we could be of help.’

Impact

The market review and the surveys allowed the company to engage with NHS organisations and to gain an understanding that there are opportunities for them to further their research and provide a solution to the UK market.

Image designed by sanivpetro @Freepik