In the early days of COVID, as the rest of us were battling over toilet paper and dissecting masking guidelines, Dr. Sara Reardon was building something: an online community dedicated to pelvic floor health education. Since then, her platform has reached thousands of women at every stage of life, helping to deliver evidence-based information and workouts and combat rampant pelvic health misinformation on social media.
In conversation with Attn: Grace Founder Alexandra Fennell, Dr. Reardon shared where that nickname really came from, along with what it means for women to take control of their pelvic health—one educational Instagram post at a time.
Alex: First off, we’d love to hear about your journey to becoming a Pelvic Floor PT. How did you decide this would be your focus? Have your own life experiences reinforced your chosen career path?
Dr. Sara Reardon: I started my career in healthcare as a pelvic floor physical therapist (PT) immediately upon graduating physical therapy school in 2007. During a clinical rotation in pelvic health PT, I loved not only learning about my own body as a woman but also helping other women understand theirs. Explaining that something as simple as muscles could be contributing to common issues—such as urinary leakage, painful intercourse, constipation, or pelvic organ prolapse—and helping them improve their symptoms and quality of life was incredibly rewarding.
Patient care along with advocacy for the benefits of pelvic health therapy have kept me on this path and earned me the moniker “The Vagina Whisperer.” It actually started after graduate school, when my PT school friends and I would gather every summer at one of their homes. I would frequently end up chatting with their moms about their pelvic floor issues, leading to the nickname that stuck to this day.
Alex: Not only are you a practicing PFPT provider, but you also have an online platform where you reach and teach many more people. How did you realize that a digital presence would be a dimension of your practice?
Dr. Reardon: In 2020, during the COVID shutdown, many women were not able to access pelvic floor therapy. Whether they were preparing for childbirth, recovering postpartum, experiencing painful sex, or navigating urinary leakage, online care options were necessary.
I launched the V-Hive Membership with my first online program that was pregnancy-focused in 2020, and since more than 10,000 women have accessed pelvic floor education and workouts through my postpartum program, post-surgical recovery program, and painful sex program. A forthcoming perimenopause and menopause program will launch to the V-Hive in Spring 2025. The organic growth of my Instagram account is an indicator that women continue to want and need pelvic health information.
Alex: From queefing to vaginal weight-lifting, no topic seems to be off-limits in your feed. Why is it meaningful to be a voice of reason amid taboo topics?
Dr. Reardon: These are topics that I commonly discuss with patients in my clinic, so they're not taboo to me but rather part of healthcare conversations. I want to create an environment in which women feel comfortable asking about their bodies, because if they can't come to their healthcare providers for this information then they may get misinformation or no solution at all. In the modern day of social media, many influencers and content creators are putting out information that is not evidence-based—or is actually completely false.
Pelvic health misconceptions persist such as using scented washes or douches to clean your vulva, vaginal steaming to help with fertility or painful sex, wearing certain shoes or tight jeans to prevent pelvic floor issues, or that kegels are the only exercise for pelvic floor dysfunction when many women need pelvic floor relaxation. That gives me reason to continue to use my experience, expertise, knowledge, and research to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information that will actually help women.
Alex: You have a new book, Floored, coming out very soon! Congratulations on that huge accomplishment. What kind of material can readers expect to find?
Dr. Reardon: I wrote Floored for women of every age and life stage, from their first period to their last, from pregnancy, birth, and beyond, and well past the years of menopause. We get one pelvic floor and having the tools to properly pee and poop, address pelvic pain and painful sex, and use proactive tips can optimize your pelvic floor health in every season of life. I also provide information on how to assess your pelvic floor muscles, how to know if you have pelvic floor issues, and self-treatment guidelines to start implementing exercises and lifestyle changes to get relief right away.
Alex: Any words of wisdom for our readers who are facing pelvic floor challenges or entering a phase of life where they could be more likely?
Dr. Reardon: First, pelvic floor problems are common during pregnancy, postpartum, and leading into or following menopause but they are not “normal.” If you're experiencing pelvic floor issues, don't wait to get help. The longer you wait, not only can it be more challenging or take longer to resolve them, but you are also suffering unnecessarily when help is available.
Attending pelvic health PT during pregnancy can help you prepare for childbirth and potentially minimize the risk of pelvic floor and core weakness or trauma during birth and postpartum. And if you've had a cesarean birth, you may still experience pelvic floor problems postpartum. The pelvic floor changes during pregnancy, so regardless of the mode of delivery, just being pregnant may lead to pelvic floor issues. Also, core weakness, scar restriction, and pelvic floor dysfunction from the C-section itself may need to be addressed.
For those who are entering perimenopause or menopause, know that the emphasis to build up muscle mass in your body should include your pelvic floor. Your body loses muscle mass and collagen with aging due to changes in hormones. Entering into menopause with increased pelvic floor muscle strength and tone will benefit you and continuing to exercise those muscles throughout your lifetime will help minimize the risk or severity of public problems.
The past 5 years have been incredibly exciting and rewarding to see pelvic floor therapy get more exposure and become more common knowledge as a treatment option for women. However, we still have a very long way to go until pelvic floor therapy is the standard of care for women of all ages. I encourage all women, if they're experiencing bladder health changes, are pregnant or postpartum, experiencing pain or navigating perimenopause and menopause to seek help.
Thank you to Dr. Sara Reardon for the opportunity to hear more about the benefits of pelvic floor therapy! If you’re interested in learning more from The Vagina Whisperer, check out the V-Hive Membership, Dr. Reardon’s book Floored, and her Instagram account @The Vagina Whisperer.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This content is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.