In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with board certified pelvic floor physical therapist Dr. Sara Reardon, known on social media as The Vagina Whisperer, to take on a belief many women carry into midlife: that bladder leakage is just part of getting older. Pelvic floor dysfunction affects roughly one in four women, and that number climbs with age, yet most women in perimenopause and menopause have never been taught what the pelvic floor is or that pelvic floor physical therapy can help. They begin the conversation with the basics, from what these muscles do every day to what actually happens at a first pelvic floor therapy visit. They also get into why simply being told to do Kegels so rarely works, how a pelvic floor that is too tight can cause many of the same symptoms as one that is too weak, and where biofeedback fits in. Dr. Haver shares her mother’s decades of living with urinary incontinence, while Dr. Reardon recalls the moment she leaked on a tennis court and understood the mental load her patients carry. From there they turn to the bladder in midlife, including waking up at night to pee, the difference between stress incontinence and urge incontinence, a simple technique for preventing leaks when you cough or sneeze, and why recurrent urinary tract infections and genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) so often call for vaginal estrogen. They also cover practical ways to cut down on nighttime bathroom trips and lower the risk of a fall on the way there. They close with pelvic organ prolapse, when the bladder, uterus, or rectum presses into the vaginal wall and causes pressure or a bulge. It is far more common than most women realize. Dr. Reardon explains what causes it, why surgery alone does not strengthen the muscles underneath, what women with transvaginal mesh should watch for, and what to ask before agreeing to any prolapse repair. Guest links: * Dr. Sara Reardon (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/the.vagina.whisperer/ * Dr. Sara Reardon / The Vagina Whisperer (Website) https://thevagwhisperer.com/ * NOLA Pelvic Health (Website) https://www.nolapelvichealth.com/ * Sara Reardon (NOLA Pelvic Health) https://www.nolapelvichealth.com/sara-reardon * The V-Hive App (The Vagina Whisperer) https://thevagwhisperer.com/membership/ * Recommended Products (The Vagina Whisperer) https://thevagwhisperer.com/recommended-products/ * NOLA Pelvic Health (Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/nolapelvichealth/ Books: * “Floored: A Woman’s Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage,” by Dr. Sara Reardon https://thevagwhisperer.com/floored/ * “The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://thepauselife.com/pages/the-new-perimenopause-book * “The New Menopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://www.amazon.com/New-Menopause-Navigating-Through-Hormonal/dp/B0CKBZ4K1Z For full show notes, please visit: https://bit.ly/unPAUSEDDrSaraReardonPart1 Never miss an episode—sign up for The ‘Pause Life Newsletter: https://thepauselife.com/pages/newsletter Medical Disclaimer: The information, including opinions and recommendations, on this platform is meant for informational and educational purposes only. Mary Claire Media, LLC, the unPAUSED podcast, and The ‘Pause Life are not medical organizations. Medical advice or medical diagnosis cannot be provided to you through the platform, any associated website, or customer portals. Using this platform does not establish a patient-physician relationship.