New pelvic app created following Community Foundation’s survey

Following this, NHS South Yorkshire LMNS Project Team has worked with the company GetUBetter to develop a free app to help women carry out pelvic floor exercises, with special pregnancy and post-birth sections.  The app includes a pelvic floor trainer section.

The app is localised for each area - Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield - and features videos demonstrating best practice and different techniques for completing pelvic floor exercises. The videos can then be translated into different languages. The app also includes links to local support services, including physiotherapy, domestic abuse support and mental health services.

To engage women from minoritised ethnic communities, the app also has a ‘read aloud’ feature which translates the text into multiple languages, including Bengali, Gujarati, Polish, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, Welsh, and Urdu, and there are accessibility features such as increased font size and captions.

NHS South Yorkshire is also creating an animation about bladder care and a leaflet on perineal massage that will be translated to support local service users.

Jacqui Yeates, Transformation Lead Midwife, South Yorkshire Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS), said: 

We’d like to thank the team at SYCF for their input into this important project which forms a key part of the NHS’ three -year Maternity and Neonatal Delivery Plan.

We’re committed to improving the pelvic health care women receive from the NHS during and after pregnancy. To do this, it is essential that we take on board the views of all communities to ensure we build a service to meet everyone’s needs.  The support of SYCF is invaluable in helping us to achieve this.

The new app will act as a fantastic resource and is something which will evolve to ensure we continue to meet the needs of all parts of the communities we serve.

 

Michelle Dickinson, Head of Philanthropy and Programmes for SYCF, said: 

We’re really proud to have worked with the NHS on this important project and play a part in improving local maternity and neonatal services.

The work which NHS South Yorkshire has put into creating this bespoke app, designed exclusively for local women, is just incredible.

During our research, we found many women wanted to discuss the subject of pelvic health with their midwife or in antenatal classes but were unaware how to seek help. So, it’s wonderful to see the thought that has gone into removing barriers created due to diverse communities and we are thrilled that consideration has also been given to the deaf community’s needs.

We would like to congratulate everyone who has made this possible.

 

To download the app, click on the link relevant to the area you live in.

Barnsley - https://bit.ly/4bFo9EX

Doncaster - https://bit.ly/3N2RoaA

Bassetlaw - https://bit.ly/3SFIj9l

Rotherham - https://bit.ly/3I3TP9w

Sheffield - https://bit.ly/3SBTrEa

There is also a short video for service users here.