This article appeared in the October 2010 issue of Bucks Living Magazine.

Get your confidence and life back.

By Alina Makhnovetsky

There are certain things a lady does not discuss. Women have been programmed to think so for decades. That is, until Sex and The City showed the fabulous foursome dishing on topics most of us have been too embarrassed to admit even to ourselves, let alone at brunch.

Like most respectable women, we tend to hide and gloss over the squirmy parts of sex, birth and menopause, as if they never happened. Except they do and we all know it. If perhaps Sex and the City had continued its run, discussing urinary incontinence and weak pelvic floor muscles would be more natural.

In truth, 35% of women over 65 have urinary incontinence, 30% of post-menopausal women and 26% of women of reproductive age also suffer. Thus, no matter how embarrassing, a conversation needs to happen.

This is precisely why Dr. Stephanie Molden created The Female Pelvic Health Center. Its mission is to provide the highest quality of care to women. The Center, with new offices in Newtown, combines expertise and experience in a setting that is uncharacteristically inviting and aesthetically pleasing, unlike the typical sterile hospital environment we’ve come to anticipate. The focus of this office is to simply give women their life back. This is a field of compassion and the Female Pelvic Health Center understands by maintaining an all female staff, as an added comfort to their patients.

In a market that is highly underserved, Dr. Molden has uncanny expertise in urogynecology. As the founder of the Female Pelvic Health Center, the only one of its kind in the area, Dr. Molden has completed an intense three-year fellowship and the special training has prepared the physician to resolve the debilitating and distressing medical problems such as prolapse or dropping of the uterus or vagina, prolapse of the urethra and bladder, stress urinary incontinence or urine loss upon coughing, sneezing or exercise, urge urinary incontinence, painful bladder syndromes, excessive nighttime urination, overactive bladder and pain during vaginal intercourse, among other conditions associated with urinary incontinence and pelvic floor support abnormalities. Dr. Molden has already performed well over a 1000 minimally invasive procedures using the latest techniques and technologies available, and has since introduced the robotic surgical system for urogynecologic surgery to both St. Luke’s and St. Mary Medical Centers. Here it is easy to know you are in capable hands. “This is all I do and in these cases, experience matters,” says Dr. Molden.

Still there are a lot of misconceptions. “Women are really embarrassed to talk about this,” says Dr. Molden. On average it has been reported a woman waits 6 years after first incident to see a doctor, most of course don’t realize how common the condition is. As a result, many women stay home and avoid leading normal, active lives because the worry and stress of finding a bathroom or having an accident is so great.
Another myth, which causes women to avoid seeing a specialist, is the threat of surgery. “Things have really changed quite a bit,” says Dr. Molden. “Most of the procedures I do are minimally invasive and there are also other options,” assures Dr. Molden. The center provides therapy sessions and weak pelvic floor muscle training to help women in distress. “We are really determined to give women their confidence and happiness back,” says Dr. Molden of her staff.

The most challenging step still remains; it is admitting there is a problem. Conquering the fear and making an appointment though can lead to a life less challenging. And who knows, a chat with a girlfriend or two might reveal you’re not alone.

The Female Pelvic Health Center is located at 760 Newtown-Yardley Road in Newtown, PA. For more information, visit www.fphcenter.com or call (215) 504-8900.

Alina Makhnovetsky is a freelance writer located in Philadelphia, PA.