March 20, 2009 A survey of members of the International Organization of Physical Therapists in Women’s Health (IOPTWH) 2008
The management of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction in different countries: A survey of members of the International Organization of Physical Therapists in Women’s Health (IOPTWH) 2008
Gill Brook, IOPTWH secretary, Bradford, United Kingdom
In 2008 I undertook an email survey of IOPTWH chief delegates to gain a view of pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation around the world. 17 member groups were contacted and all replied. This document summarises their responses.
Throughout the world, specialists in Women’s Health Physical Therapy are committed to providing their patients and clients with professional and comprehensive care in a respectful and caring environment. Women’s Health has commonly been defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (World Health Organization [WHO], 1997). A disease or condition must meet the following five criteria in order to be considered a women’s health condition: The disease must be unique, more prevalent, more serious, have different risk factors, or require interventions that are different for women or a sub-group of women (United States Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 1985).
It is the position of the International Organization of Physical Therapists in Women’s Health (IOPTWH) that the scope of practice in women’s Health physical therapy shall subscribe.....continued
The Afghan Midwifery Project
“…the proportion of women
who died of maternal causes ranged from 16 percent in Kabul,
where at least one maternity hospital was functional, to 64
percent in Badakshan, where healthcare access was profoundly
limited…(also) the highest proportion of deaths due to
maternal mortality reported in the world .”
Maternal Mortality in Afghanistan: Magnitude,
Causes, Risk Factors and Preventability
Afghan Ministry for Public Health, U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, UNICEF
Currently, men, who customarily are
not permitted to attend women in childbirth, perform most of the
nursing care. During prior years, skilled midwives fled
the country, went into hiding, or risked being killed. The result
is that there are few trained women to attend childbirth. The
primary focus of The Afghan Midwifery Project is to train Afghan
women about healthy prenatal care and safe childbirth. Their training
involves attendance at births, and the program is sensitive to
and suitable for Afghan urban and rural culture, living conditions
and traditional modes of child delivery. Homebirth midwives in
rural Afghanistan must be able to manage without the support of
a hospital, without electricity, and with herbal medicines, if
necessary. The Afghan Midwifery Project combines traditional Afghan
midwifery with aspects of modern medical practice to re-invigorate
and re-establish women as primary-care providers in the long-term
and saving lives in the short-term.
Read more about The Afghan Midwifery
Project at http://www.afghanrelief.com/Those wishing to donate to the project can send US funds
to: International Midwifery Assistance at PO Box 916 Boulder,
CO 80306. Or contact Jennifer Braun coordinating midwife
at jbmidwife@hotmail.com
