Close to four in ten Australian women experience urinary leakage. Many quietly change how they live and assume it’s simply part of having children or getting older. In this episode, Host, Dr Gavin Nimon (Orthopaedic Surgeon), interviews Adelaide gynaecologist Dr Fariba Behnia-Willison, who explains why prolapse and incontinence are common, but not something women should be expected to put up with.
Fariba specialises in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery. She walks through:
The difference between pelvic organ prolapse, stress incontinence and urge incontinence (overactive bladder)
Risk factors, including childbirth, menopause, chronic cough, constipation, smoking and raised intra-abdominal pressure
The key history questions a GP or registrar can ask in every consultation
A sensitive, trauma-informed, consent-based approach to vaginal examination
POP-Q staging, and why surgery is considered for symptoms rather than stage alone
The central role of pelvic health physiotherapy, before and after any surgery
How pessaries work and the types available
Surgical options
Practical vulval care, continence products and lifestyle measures
The conversation is aimed at medical students, junior doctors and GPs, but it will be useful to anyone who has wondered whether their symptoms are “just normal”.