(AD – This is a paid partnership with organic and natural personal care brand Natracare.)
How many times have you been embarrassed by the normal functions of your body? Me: many times.
I remember as a teenager discretely swapping tampons with friends in class because I’d been “caught out”, before running through school to the toilets as the blood seeped through my pants – horrified in case anyone noticed it.
Then, as a new mum at an exercise class, doing squat jumps and wetting myself because of a weakened pelvic floor – and feeling like I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me to hide my shame.
The thing is, all this stuff is TOTALLY NORMAL. These are things that around 50% of the bodies on earth go through. So why do we hide them and talk about periods and bladder weakness in hushed tones, as if they’re dirty secrets to be ashamed of?
Did you know bladder weakness impacts more women in the UK than hay fever? It affects so many of us but can be treated in 84% of cases with 6 sessions of pelvic floor training – yet one in three women aren’t aware of this cos they’re too embarrassed to seek help.
Natracare is hoping to smash the stigma tomorrow with a record breaking attempt to get women everywhere to collectively squeeze their pelvic floor muscles in a live Facebook pelvic floor #PeepleUnite exercise class. If this is something you experience don’t be embarrassed – join in tomorrow and know you are 10000% not alone.
I’ve been a big fan of Natracare products ever since I discovered the brand last summer. Their personal care products are plastic free and organic, perfume free and chlorine free, which is good news when we hear that litter pickers collect six pieces of period waste for every 100 metres of beach. Eco points aside though, the pads are genuinely the softest I’ve ever used and other mums tell me the maternity pads are super gentle and are “the one” for after giving birth.
Not only that though, I love that the brand is helping to raise awareness of what is an issue that affects SO MANY people, smashing a stigma that, quite frankly, belongs in the bin. We do not need to feel embarrassed about our bodies. These are completely normal and common things that women everywhere are facing. Losing the taboo and bringing the conversation out into the open will serve us all well – along with our daughters.
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