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The
Simon Foundation for Continence |
| Press Releases | Press Releases: Pregnancy Roundtable |
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For
further information contact: For
Immediate Release: THE SIMON FOUNDATION FOR CONTINENCE HOSTS ROUNDTABLE ON PREGNANCY, BIRTHING, AND INCONTINENCE In
January 2005 the Simon Foundation for Continence brought together
experts from throughout the United States and Europe to discuss the
topic of Pregnancy, Birthing, and Incontinence.
The two-day meeting held in Chicago was chaired by Professor
Christine Norton, Ph.D., R.N. (U.K.) and Dr. Toni Harris (U.S.), both
members of the Simon Foundation's Advisory Board. The
goals of the meeting were: (1) to identify what current research has
discovered to be protective of the pelvic floor during pregnancy and
delivery; (2) to identify what is not yet known about this topic; and
(3) to create the appropriate educational message for women of
childbearing age about pregnancy, birthing, and incontinence. "Given
America's soaring costs of healthcare, educating the public regarding
prevention in all areas of healthcare should be among our top national
priorities,” stated Cheryle B. Gartley, President of the Simon
Foundation. "In 1997
the Foundation organized the First International Conference on the
Prevention of Incontinence which was held in London, England.
The Pregnancy, Birthing, and Incontinence think tank is an
extension of that groundbreaking conference and a re-dedication to the
concept of prevention as it relates to pregnancy, birthing, and
incontinence." Among
the multidisciplinary experts attending the roundtable were:
Roger Goldberg, M.D., a urogynecologist and author of "Ever
Since I Had My Baby"; Missy Lavender, MBA, founder of the Women's
Health Foundation; Monica Liebert, Ph.D., Director for Research and
Guidelines, the American Urological Association; Lisa Kane Low, PhD.,
CNM, FACNM, Assistant Research Scientist at the University of Michigan's
School of Nursing; Janice Miriam Miller, PhD, APRN, Assistant Research
Scientist, School of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
University of Michigan; Richard I. Nelson, Jr., M.D., Chief, Division of
Colon and Rectal Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago; Nancy
Norton, founder of the
International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders;
Jeannette Tries, PhD, OTR, Director of the Behavioural and
Rehabilitation Program at West Allis Memorial Hospital in Milwaukee;
and Kristine E. Whitmore, Chairman of the Division of Urology,
Graduate Hospital, Philadelphia. Also
in attendance were Simon staff: Jasmine Schmidt, Director of Education;
Bette Rank, Director of Special Projects; and Shirley Hopple from the
Simon Foundation's Volunteer Program. The Pregnancy, Birthing, and Incontinence Roundtable marks the launch of the Foundation's program to address the complex topic of incontinence as it relates to pregnancy and birthing. The roundtable was sponsored by an Educational Grant from SCA Personal Products, makers of Serenity. Another facet of the Foundation's Pregnancy, Birthing and Incontinence project includes the 2005 publication of "Bladder Control and Pregnancy", an article co-authored by Dr. Toni Harris, Urogynecologist, University of California Davis, and Cheryle B. Gartley, Simon Foundation, which is currently being distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada to an estimated 5 million women of childbearing age. |