Find your way to a healthier, stronger pelvic floor with femfit® by JUNOFEM.
Introducing JUNOFEM and the femfit® pelvic floor muscle training system. They provide a circle of care combined with state-of-the-art technology to help the one-in-three women who experience urinary incontinence. While the statistics for urinary incontinence are high, perhaps the most disturbing element is that most people prefer to sweep it under the carpet. However, while urinary incontinence is a distressing condition for those who experience it, for most women, it can be managed effectively.
“It’s very common but it’s not normal,” says Laura Pedofsky, who joined JUNOFEM and femfit® after researching femfit® for her PhD in bioengineering. “And it’s important to know that you can do something about it.
“We know that at least 50% of women do not feel comfortable talking to their doctor about urinary incontinence. So the team at JUNOFEM recognised the need for a solution women can trust that was effective and easy to use – femfit® is part of that solution.”
What is femfit®?
femfit® is a biofeedback device. It’s slim, soft, and flexible and designed to be worn inside the vagina. Made up of eight pressure sensors, encapsulated in biocompatible silicon, femfit® connects to an interactive app which guides women on effective pelvic floor muscle activation. In addition, it takes them through a pelvic floor muscle strength training programme via a fun and interactive app.
“Once in place, your muscles will move in a natural way without obstruction,” says Laura.
“Jenny, the CEO and co-founder of JUNOFEM has a background in nursing and obstetrics so she understood the clinical need.”
Clinical research
Led by Dr Jenny Kruger, The Pelvic Floor Research group at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland was originally looking at developing instrumentation to measure intraabdominal pressure during activities after surgery for pelvic organ prolapse.
“It’s key to keep abdominal pressure low when you’re returning to exercise,” says Laura. “Then the idea of a vaginal pressure profile came about and femfit® snowballed out of that.”
There had never been a wearable device that could measure different pressure profiles during activities before. “We worked with a lot of clinical leaders who drove the research and we had a lot of guidance from key opinion leaders in the clinical space,” says Laura.
Indeed, femfit® is backed by 10 years of academic research.
There are three pressure zones along the length of the vagina:
- Abdominal pressure is at the top of the vagina near the
- The middle is the high-pressure zone (if you effectively contract your pelvic floor this is where strengthening occurs).
- Low pressure near the vagina entrance.
“Researchers were interested to see how pressure could be changed along the vagina during various activities,” says Laura. “There’s always been interest in what exercises are safe post-partum, so we had some research groups using femfit® in activities. Both during pelvic floor muscle activation and also post-partum during different movements.”
The clinically validated training programme
JUNOFEM’S solution comes complete with a 12-week training programme that’s been tested in a randomised control trial.
“We know this programme works for women with incontinence,” says Laura. “Following this programme ensures women exercise at the right intensity and femfit® helps their technique.”
The programme gives real-time feedback via the app to improve technique and effectiveness, caters to all levels and takes eight to 16 minutes, five times a week.
“Many women need pelvic floor strengthening help,” says Laura. “We know that up to 30% of women cannot tighten their pelvic floor on verbal instruction. femfit®’s visual biofeedback through the app lets you know whether you’re activating the correct muscles. That’s the beauty of the vaginal pressure profile.”
One in three women suffer from pelvic floor disorders. But with the right treatment, up to 80% of symptoms can be resolved.
The JUNOFEM experience
Laura stresses that the JUNOFEM experience isn’t just about buying a device and going on your way.
“JUNOFEM offers wraparound specialist support. Our pelvic floor physios will work with you if you need a little bit of extra support,” she says. “We want to be on this journey to pelvic floor health with you.”
To that end, when making a purchase you’ll be asked to fill out a symptom survey.
“While lots of women experience pelvic floor muscle dysfunction not everyone would benefit from a strengthening tool,” says Laura. “So, we want to ensure JUNOFEM and femfit® is right for you. femfit® is also available through referrals if a specialist physiotherapist thinks it will be beneficial for you.”
Ten years from concept to creation, femfit® is researched in New Zealand, designed in New Zealand, and made in New Zealand.
femfit® is available from junofem.com
