For those looking to learn more about hormonal wellness, Kegels and Cocktails Brant will be hosting their hormone event at Brantford’s Rope Factory on Thursday, May 30, 2024.
Sherri-lyn Moore, a pelvic health physiotherapist, said the event is meant to be a fun way to learn about health.
“This is an event that is meant to be a fun women’s night out and to share information about women’s health with that emphasis on pelvic health,” she said. “But really, we want it to be more than that, we want it to be a place where women can learn about their health in a fun and interactive way.”
Krystal Schouten, a pelvic floor fitness and movement specialist, added that it’s important to both of them to be able to create awareness and unlock those “aha!” moments.
“A lot of women walk around with symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, and they don’t even know it. I think the first step that we do at Kegels and Cocktails is creating that awareness for women so that while they are sitting in the audience, they’re actively having these ‘aha’ moments,” she said. “There’s a lot of bad habits like posture, your alignment, your breathing patterns, how you sit and how you stand, that are contributing to these symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction like incontinence. We want to be able to have our guests understand that it doesn’t need to be that way, we can change these things and we want to do it in an environment where there are other women also wanting to learn more and aren’t ashamed to ask questions.”
With one in three women over the age of 55 experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction, Moore said that understanding how hormones work and how they affect the body at an early age, can help someone better understand their overall health for the future.
“There are so many precursors and signs that are silent for so long and there are a lot of people who may not know how to listen to those things. So, if someone already knows to keep themselves in a healthier place to begin with, when they have some decline, it’s not going to be as noticeable or affect their function as much,” said Moore. “The more that we normalize having these conversations, then the more people will understand that our pelvic health is more than just reproductive health and that it’s all interconnected.”
The two said that the event is meant to be a stepping stone; a way to better communicate to health professionals about symptoms and to connect with services that can provide further assistance.
With guest speakers like Emily Opthof, a Registered Dietitian with a special focus in reproductive medicine and gynecology, Dr. Mary-Leah Albano, a Naturopathic Doctor, Moore and Schouten, guests can expect to learn about the foundations of eating for hormone and reproductive health, the effect of hormones on the pelvic floor, proactive approaches to dealing with hormonal health, and supporting the adrenal (stress) system through the peri-menopause and menopausal “transformation.”
The two noted that while the event may be geared to women’s health, anyone is welcome to attend and that they hope to empower the generations.
“You don’t have to be a certain age to get something from this, even if you feel like your past menopause or you’re not even close to it, that doesn’t mean that it’s still not beneficial to learn about hormone health through all our stages,” said Moore.
