Common, but not normal: Pelvic floor issues tackled by Kiwi company - Share Satisfaction

New Zealand Doctor Magazine, February 2023

NZ company Share Satisfaction wants to shine a light on the body’s most neglected and misunderstood muscles, the pelvic floor, with their new line of products

A new line of products especially designed to treat pelvic floor issues in people with uteruses have been launched today by Share Satisfaction, a New Zealand owned and operated sexual wellness brand.

Developed with consultation from pelvic health physiotherapists, the Eyden product range is designed for the thousands of New Zealanders who suffer in silence with pelvic floor issues every year.

“We’re incredibly pleased to be the first New Zealand company to launch a bespoke range of products aimed at helping people with a whole range of pelvic floor complaints, from postpartum women to those with painful conditions like vaginismus,” Taslim Parsons, Share Satisfaction’s founder, says.

“You can’t separate sexual health - which includes pelvic floor health - from your overall wellbeing. Even in 2023, sexual wellness and pelvic health just aren’t talked about enough - so we’re on a mission to change that.”

In New Zealand, 46 per cent of women will experience a pelvic health issue in their life. Additionally, one in three women will experience urinary incontinence and one in five will experience pain during sex.

Wellington-based pelvic floor physiotherapist Liz Childs says pelvic floor conditions are common and often treatable.

“However, many people have accepted the pain and symptoms they experience as normal because no one has told them otherwise,” she says.

Childs’ Pelvic Health Physiotherapy clinic will have around 100 appointments a week, with over half of those having overactive pelvic floor muscles, often resulting in painful sex.

“Working in the sexual wellness industry means I hear a lot of stories from friends and customers about their experiences with pelvic floor issues, and it got me thinking about how ridiculous it is that no one mentions your pelvic floor and how to strengthen those muscles until after you're pregnant,” says Parsons.

The Eyden collection, consisting of Kegel and dilator kits, can help to improve bladder and bowel control, reduce the risk of prolapse, assist with rehabilitation post-cancer treatment, increase sexual sensation, and enhance sexual and physical wellbeing.

"Currently, we use plastic dilators that look very clinical and can be intimidating. It will be great to offer patients silicone products that are more comfortable to use. Small dilators are also very hard to come by in New Zealand, so the size range Eyden dilators offer is fantastic to ease patients into their treatment," says Childs.

For people like Christine Jeffery, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2017 and has since undergone chemotherapy, radiation and multiple surgeries, including a mastectomy and ooferectomy, Eyden offers an easily accessible way to make sex pleasant again.

"Since my cancer was hormone receptor-positive, I took the drug Tamoxifen which in addition to goserelin infection prior to the ooferectomy resulted in me basically going into early menopause. As a result, I experienced a loss of libido and vaginal dryness that ultimately affected my sex life," says Jeffery.

Alongside the campaign to raise awareness around pelvic health, Share Satisfaction is partnering with Community Foundations of NZ to donate $1 from every sale of its new Eyden collection to initiatives supporting women’s health across the country.

“It’s truly wonderful to see a New Zealand business success story like Share Satisfaction leading in the corporate social responsibility space and sharing some of their hard-earned success,” says Elanor Cater, Community Foundations of NZ communications director.

"We know that it’s hard to give corporate donations away well and CFNZ will ensure that the donations from Eyden sales will go directly to where they will benefit women most. Especially to women’s health initiatives which sometimes fall under the radar – for example, the work Nikau Foundation does with Porirua's Pinikilicious, which is all about empowering Pasifika women to take charge of their health," says Cater.