What if our understanding of sex, especially in the medical world, is all wrong? In this passionate and unfiltered conversation, Surabhi Veitch is joined by pelvic health physical therapist, sexuality educator and counselor Dr. Uchenna Ossai, also known as Dr. UC. They explore how pleasure is more than just an orgasm, why goal-oriented sex is limiting, and how cultural identities shape our experiences with intimacy.

From navigating sexual shame to being more present during sex across different life challenges like pregnancy and postpartum, this episode is a must-listen for anyone who works in healthcare or anyone who wants to elevate their intimacy. 

They also dive into the Pelvic Health Sexuality Counseling Certificate Program by Dr. Uchenna Ossai and Heather Edwards, a fellow pelvic physiotherapist, and they discuss why intersectionality must be central to how healthcare providers approach care.

Trouble navigating sexytime postpartum? Struggling with your sexual confidence since you became a mom? Tune into this week's episode of Mom Strength to learn how to reconnect with yourself, your pelvic floor and improve intimacy after baby.

You’ll learn about:

1. Responsive desire vs spontaneous desire

2. Sexual brakes vs sexual accelerators in the postpartum phase

3. Pelvic floor strategies for pain, discomfort, or low libido

4. Sex frequency and what the research says

5. How we are impacted by society’s portrayal of “sexy”

6. Do Kegels help with painful sex?

7. Making sex work in your tired new mom life

8. Where to get help with pelvic floor or sexual health concerns postpartum

Surabhi Veitch and Joanne Ukposidolo have a dynamic conversation on how to become a better and more successful pelvic floor physiotherapist, while respecting shared decision making, cultural humility and embracing your own identity.

We discuss:

1. Creating a space where you and your Type A clients can release the pressure and stress of the day

2. The role of the physiotherapy as a partnership and creating an environment where clients want to participate in their rehab

3. Empowering clients as the custodian of their own care

4. Getting better at understanding client’s goals, identity and culture in order to better treat them

5. The importance of hearing people out and validating their concerns as a pelvic health physiotherapist

6. Cultural competence vs cultural humility

7. Understanding body shame and body confidence as a woman treading across multiple cultures

8. The hypervisibility and hyperinvisibility of being a visible minority (terms by Stephanie Lurch)

9. Embracing your culture, identity and parts that “stand out”

10. The importance of knowing yourself and respecting your own boundaries - “once you understand why something is important to you, nothing can touch you at that point”

11. The importance of critical thinking as a healthcare professional

12. Understanding how race and technology/AI can impact pain management and birth outcomes

13. Why it is crucial for healthcare professionals to take care of themselves in order to provide better client care

Can Kegel chairs fix your pelvic floor issues?! Is your “unstable pelvis” causing pain during pregnancy? Tune into this episode to find out!

Surabhi chats with Dr. Sinéad Dufour, leading researcher and pelvic physiotherapist in a conversation all about incontinence, pelvic girdle pain and HIFEM technology.

We get into:

1. The benefits of virtual and hybrid models of care when it comes to pelvic physical therapy

2. What the research says about pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP)

3. Reducing fear of movement and getting moms moving

4. Understanding physiologic vs structural pain

5. Pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary incontinence

6. High-intensity focused electromagnetic technology (HIFEM) like Emsella and other “Kegel chairs”