This Pelvic floor-focussed post deep dives into the challenges that change significantly as women age. Understanding these decade-by-decade transitions is key to maintaining lifelong pelvic floor health. 20’s: - This is the decade of peak pelvic floor muscle strength, but it is also marked by high-impact activities (like running or heavy lifting) and the onset of menstrual or endometriosis-related pelvic pain. - Focus on learning to relax the pelvic floor as well as strengthe

Endometriosis affects approximately 1 in 10 (10%) women of reproductive age in South Africa, translating to an estimated 2.8 million women. Mirroring global trends, local patients typically face an average diagnostic delay of about 8 years. Endo cannot be permanently cured, but it can be highly effectively managed. Because it is a chronic, estrogen-dependent inflammatory disease, the goal of treatment shifts from eradication to symptom suppression, fertility preservation, and

Authored by: Zuha Ajlan – Lead Data Collection and Research Specialist at Femmflo. Introduction Historically, women have been excluded from scientific research due to the cyclic variation in their hormones. It had been assumed that results obtained from men applied to women as well (Dresser, 1992; Wainer et al., 2020). This has led to a gross underrepresentation of women in research, delayed symptom recognition, diagnostics and even treatment. In fact, it was decades before w

Researcher: Raeesah Ismail from the Department of Psychology (University of the Witwatersrand) under the supervision of Dr S Rogers, research conducted in 2025. Citation: Ismail, Raeesah. (2025). Psychological Wellbeing Among South African Women with Endometriosis: A Quantitative Study. [Master's dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WIReDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/47828 What Is The Study About? This study explored the experiences and psycholo

Researchers: Janine Blignaut (PhD candidate), Dr Gabre Kemp from the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry , Prof Elizabeth Erasmus , Prof Deon Visser , and Prof Marietjie Schutte-Smith from the Department of Chemistry . March 2026 Synopsis… A recent study by the University of the Free State tested popular menstrual products sold in South Africa, and found hormone-disrupting chemicals in every product tested, even those marketed as “free from harmful chemic