In the Press

An entrepreneurial mum who is celebrating 20 years of helping to save people's sex lives through her leading business selling pelvic floor toners has warned women that maintaining your pelvic floor is as important as 'brushing your teeth'.

Menstrual cups are becoming increasingly popular, and it's not hard to see why. They don't dry out the vagina like tampons do, they contain no bleach or harmful substances, they're reusable, eco-friendly and don't create any waste. AND they're cheaper in the long run.

Lorraine Kelly has revealed that going through the menopause caused to her to feel as though she was “losing control" and triggered “unbearable" anxiety. In her book ‘Shine: Discover A Brighter You by Lorraine Kelly’ the 59-year-old breakfast TV host, who turns 60 this month, revealed that the menopause had a real impact on her life.

With 2020 fast-approaching, it’s time to look ahead to some of the biggest things we can expect in the new year. A number of experts have shared their thoughts on which wellness trends will dominate as we enter a new decade – and there are some interesting predictions.

The menopause can be a tumultuous and confusing phase, and while many know of the signature menopause symptoms– night sweats or memory difficulties -there are also various other signs to watch out for. Stephanie Taylor, women’s health expert and managing director of pelvic healthcare company Kegel8, reveals the 11 obscure symptoms of the menopause that could be affecting you…

When you think of the symptoms of the menopause, it’s likely you’ll think about hot flushes, night sweats and mood swings, but there are some other lesser known indications that the menopause could be approaching. In fact there are a whopping 34 symptoms associated with the menopause and some are a little on the surprising side.

The menopause can drastically change how you look, feel and act but there are many lesser-known symptoms which can be equally as testing as night sweats, weight gain, memory loss and hot flushes. Stephanie Taylor, women’s health expert and Managing Director of pelvic healthcare company Kegel8, names 11 obscure symptoms of the menopause which could be affecting you…

Menopause is when someone with a vagina stops having periods and is therefore something that a significant portion of the population will have to deal with sooner or later. With that in mind, and to celebrate World Menopause Day, now’s as good a time as any to learn when menopause usually begins and how long it typically lasts for.

From boosting libido, reducing cramps to fighting off bad bacteria, what you put on your plate can directly benefit the health of your vagina and vulva, says Stephanie Taylor, pelvic health expert and Managing Director of Kegel8.

From boosting libido, reducing cramps to fighting off bad bacteria, what you put on your plate can directly benefit the health of your vagina and vulva, says Stephanie Taylor, pelvic health expert and Managing Director of Kegel8.

A PELVIC health expert has issued a stark warning against vaginal steaming as women are giving themselves severe burns by trying out the ‘revitalising’ treatment.

Pelvic well being knowledgeable warns in opposition to ‘vaginal steaming’ after a lady was left with agonising burns – and shares recommendation on avoiding a prolapse.

Pelvic health expert Stephanie Taylor offered advice on preventing prolapses. Her study found the NHS spends over £45 million a year treating the condition. She has warned women against 'vaginal steaming' to relive prolapse symptoms.

Have you ever sneezed and felt some pee come out? How about when doing a star jump Let’s not mention the time you took the kids to the trampoline park. The unspoken truth is that many women of all ages are secretly dealing with leaks caused by a weak pelvic floor.

Pelvic organ prolapse affects 1 in 3 women and a small percentage of men but many aren’t aware of the symptoms or causes. To find out the true cost of pelvic organ prolapse, pelvic healthcare company Kegel8 has analysed exclusive data* to reveal which areas in England are the most affected and how it impacts NHS Trusts financially.

Over the past few years, menstrual cups have been increasing in popularity as an alternative to pads and tampons. However, for some who have never tried them, they are perceived as a particularly intimidating sanitary product. How does it stay put in the vagina? Can you feel it? And most pressingly... how can you make sure it doesn't spill when you remove it?

MENSTRUAL cups are just as reliable in preventing leaks and could be more cost-effective than other sanitary products, experts say. Researchers who carried out the first ever scientific review into their use found awareness is relatively low internationally.

Menstrual cups are relatively new on the sanitary-wear scene, which means you might not know a lot about them. Common questions include: Are menstrual cups as leakproof as tampons? How do you insert a menstrual cup? And can you use one if you have - in true Mean Girls fashion - a heavy flow?

I am just coming up to my 35th week of pregnancy – it’s time to get my hospital bag packed and ready for the arrival of our little boy. It’s gone so quickly – however – its also felt like a lifetime! There are so many checklists and guides out there, but thanks to my team at Bounce, I am sorted. Here are things they recommend…

As our editor Rachel Ducker hits 35 weeks in her pregnancy – it’s time for her to pack her hospital bag ready for the big event. There are so many checklists and guides out there, but we wanted to create our own Bounce Bag for Rachel with all of our preferred brands, to help her along the way. Here are things we recommend…

Is the change getting you hot under the collar? A few simple tweaks and you could be breezing it!. We're thrilled the menopause is finally shaking off its taboo and being discussed more openly in society, but there's a lot of information out there to sort through! Here'e what you need to know if you want to manage your menopause naturally.

There are certain songs that just get us in the mood. For men of a certain age, there's nothing sexier than sliding a vinyl copy of Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing onto the record player just before getting it on with your partner. Times have changed since then and — in the age of streaming — audio boffins can now pinpoint the exact songs, artists and playlist that make up our sultry soundtracks. With that in mind, pelvic healthcare company Kegel8 has compiled the ultimate 'forplaylist' (get it?), which reveals the top artists featured on playlists.

Kegel8 Tight and Tone Electronic Pelvic Toner - This clever gadget can help to restore pelvic muscles that are too weak to do traditional "squeeze and release" Kegel exercises.

We’re not saying we want silence during sex, but there are some things we don’t want to hear when we’re trying to get in the zone. One of those is the lyrics: “My saddle’s waiting, come and jump on it." The research, done by pelvic floor exerciser Kegel8, looked at Spotify data to find out which songs appeared most often in UK playlists featuring the terms: sex, Netflix and chill, date night and baby-making (pass us the sick bucket).

It can be a devastating blow to realise that you are no longer in complete control of your body. Kegel8 understand all too well the effect that pelvic floor dysfunction has on every single aspect of a woman’s life.

Dr Christian: Using lube makes the Kegel8 Pelvic Floor Wand easier to insert. Once it's in, it's clear straight away whether you're doing it properly. A leaflet describes lots of exercises too. It feels odd to remove, but it really works.

Pelvic floor exercises are typically recommended for women - but experts say men can benefit too.

Using apps and exercises, women and men can benefit from keeping their pelvic floor muscles healthy.

If you’re invested in the wellbeing of the environment, you’ll be well aware of the damage that plastic pollution causes on a global basis – and you may also understand the critical role that hidden plastics play in exacerbating this threat.

Luce Brett became incontinent at the age of 30 after the birth of her first child. Now 41, the writer shares her story with Jenny Eells and Kat Harbourne on the BBC's The Naked Podcast.

When the pelvic floor muscles weaken it can cause embarrassing leaks, so it's important to exercise them.

When it comes to lifting weights, you probably think you've got it covered. However, you could be forgetting a crucial muscle group.

In case you don't know, it's International Women's Day, which means we're celebrating all the progress women have made in society, the workplace and... mainstream media.

Valentine’s Day is here and many women will be enjoying the day of love and have stocked up on some incredible lingerie. But a women’s health expert said we should be focusing on what’s under the underwear and making sure our intimate areas are healthy.

Stephanie Taylor, managing director of Kegel8, is trying to get women to look after their own intimate areas this year with her 8 simple tips.

Forget last-minute flowers and a naff card - this Valentine's Day it's all about looking after number one: your vagina.

When I found out my little sister was expecting her first child I immediately started planning what I could get her. I wanted to get her things that would be genuinely useful and that no one else would think to get her, that she might not even think to get herself. So here’s what I got her.

Many women suffer from stress urinary incontinence (SUI), but few discuss it. Lisa Jackson shows you how, through the right treatment and with regular daily parctise, you can strengthen your pelvic floor and become a stronger, more confident runner.

So you haven't had a child? Honey, regardless – you need to be doing your pelvic floor exercises. Those teeny tiny muscles take a hell of a beating throughout life, and keeping them strong can benefit you more than you'd ever imagine.

As we do at Top Five Baby, we’ve chosen our top five, so you can know you’re buying a pelvic floor exerciser / pelvic toner that works for best you. We’ve tested and reviewed completely independently so you get an informed, unbiased opinion. Happy kegeling!

Annabel May Oakley-Watson, 24, shares her first person account of what going through the menopause early - at the tender age of 15 - was really like.

Speaking on The Afternoon Show with Lucy Clark, Stephanie Taylor spreads the word of #PositivePause for World Menopause Day. "It's time we stop padding the problem!"

Tina is joined by Dr Karen Morton and the co-founders of the website hotflush.info. Talking about why it’s so important to talk about our sex life as we navigate our way through the menopause.

There is still too much taboo surrounding the menopause. “It is time for people to be made aware of why the pelvic floor weakens, and the issues around that."

While the #MeToo campaign empowered more women to speak out about issues like menopause, there is still a long way to go. “The market is huge, but we are dealing with a subject that covers so many taboos.

Want to reduce your risk of incontinence, boost your core strength and improve your sex life? Try these must-do pelvic floor exercises

In this episode of the See Her Thrive podcast, Clare Knox is joined by Stephanie Taylor, Kegel8 Founder and Managing Director, as they discuss the pelvic floor importance, top tips and tricks to improve pelvic floor health, and the benefits of using Kegel8 pelvic toners.

While everyone should do pelvic floor exercises, many people still struggle to master them alone as the muscles can be hard to isolate. In this article Amanda Savage, spokesperson for the Professional Network of Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy, suggests some of the best gadgets to help.

Running puts three times your body weight on your pelvic floor which, if it’s already weak, can lead to a prolapse of the vagina, bladder and/or bowel. A prolapse is where the organ drops down, often into the passage beneath it.

Women tend not to understand how important the pelvic floor is," says Stephanie Taylor, founder of pelvic floor health company Kegel8. “As a result, warning signs that it isn’t functioning as it should, often get overlooked."

Stephanie Taylor, Managing Director, says, “Our team hears from thousands of women each year who are desperate for a solution to their bladder weakness or prolapse, having suffered for years in silence. Knowing that there are medically-proven, non-surgical ways to improve their situation brings them enormous comfort, and is a step on the way to rebuilding the confidence and the control they have lost."

"Using weighted [vaginal] cones is a bit like weight-lifting for vaginal muscles: it builds them up," says Dr Penelope Law, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Hillingdon Hospital and The Portland Hospital in London. "Kegel8 Vaginal Cones tells you if you’re doing the exercises correctly and you can track [your] progress to build up to heavier weights."

Kegel8 have created an exercise and diet plan to help women improve their pelvic floor health, and sex life. Losing just 10% of your body weight can increase the strength of your pelvic floor by 50%. A strengthened pelvic floor provides increased sensitivity during sex and stronger orgasms for women.

Weight gain and pelvic floor health are intrinsically linked – excess pounds cause additional stress. “By losing 10% of your body weight, you can increase the strength of your pelvic floor by 50%" says Consultant Urogynaecologist Mark Slack.

A new diet focused on strengthening your pelvic floor muscles says women can have better sex by eating the right foods and doing strategic workouts. Unlike most diets, the not-so-sexily named Pelvic Floor Diet isn't focused on weight loss, but on boosting the health of your pelvic muscles.

There's no need for embarrassment or awkwardness when it comes to strengthening your pelvic floor, in fact, it couldn't be easier - simply chow down on these foods as recommended by Kegel8.

Since the goal of regular exercise with pelvic floor muscles is not only to improve sex sensations, but also to tone and hormonal balance, and to regulate the monthly cycle, I was motivated not only to start, but also to perform regular exercises at home. - Article written in Bulgarian.

Vaginal cones and weights are a very different concept to electronic devices, cheaper and more accessible for most people. They are particularly good for building the endurance qualities of the pelvic floor – which we need for holding babies, carrying shopping and going for a run. Written by Physiotherapist, Amanda Savage.

"I worry that my pelvic floor is going to cave in like a Chilean mine. I order a Kegel8, a miracle machine that brings my vagina back to life like a defibrillator. My growler is so strong I can almost climb trees with it. Naturally, I am thrilled."

"If you've got problems we would recommend performing [pelvic floor] exercises three times a day every day for a maximum of ten-second holds for ten repetitions," says Katie Mann. "It takes around 12 to 16 weeks to change a muscle, and, exactly like muscles in the arms and legs, if you stop training it, it will weaken again."

"Pelvic floor exercises are something that all women should do regularly, but it’s easy to forget them when we have a million other things on our mind, the Kegel8 Tight & Tone Electronic Pelvic Toner is designed to take some of the pressure of remembering and finding the time to do our pelvic floor exercises."

Kegel8’s cones come in a set of three different sizes. The idea is to progress onto a heavier weight as your muscle tone improves. How easy is it? Very simple to use. Made from soft silicone and ergonomically designed, they're very comfortable.

Light adult incontinence is a sign that you have a weak pelvic floor, so too are those “It doesn't feel the same anymore" intimate moments. No matter how many times you practice your “squeeze and release" exercises if your pelvic floor is weak, it won't get stronger and you'll become demoralised…

In the UK, one in three women suffer from urinary incontinence. Yet, despite the normality of this health issue, particularly among pregnant women or those who have recently given birth, we often feel far too embarrassed to approach a medical professional for help – let alone discuss it with our friends.