How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
I have one daughter. She will be 5 at the end of November.
How long have you lived in the Columbus area and what made you decide to live here?
I have lived in Columbus my whole life. My husband and I decided to stay here because we love Columbus and wanted to stay close to family and friends.
What are your favorite family activities?
The Columbus Zoo, COSI, go on bike rides, go to trampoline parks, attend local kid friendly festivals.
What is your favorite thing about living in the Columbus area?
The large variety of things you can do on any given day. You never have to be bored!
Tell us about Anchor Pelvic Health and how you got started.
Anchor Pelvic Health is my business where I provide pelvic floor therapy for women. I am an occupational therapist with specialized training in pelvic health services. After having my daughter I had numerous pelvic floor issues that I was unprepared for. I also wasn’t happy with the typical answers that “this is just what happens after you have a baby.” I didn’t want to feel the way I did and working with a pelvic floor therapist was my saving grace. However, it wasn’t easy to find a pelvic floor therapist who provided quality and holistic care. I think I went to 5 different therapists before finding one that was a good fit for me and who wouldn’t just tell me to do kegels. In going through all of this I developed a passion for women’s pelvic health and decided to pursue this career so that I could provide women with the type of care I think they deserve.
Who is your typical client and what issues do they most often come to you for?
I see a variety of clients. Typical things I see people for are as follows:
- Pain with intercourse
- Pregnancy aches/pains/pelvic floor issues
- Labor and birth preparation
- Postpartum recovery and safe return to exercise
- Pain/discomfort following vaginal delivery or c-section
- Urinary incontinence
- Constipation
- Pelvic pain-SI joint pain, bladder pain, tailbone pain, vulvar pain etc….
- Tummy tuck recovery
- Abdominal separation (diastasis recti)
- Pelvic organ prolapse
What are some of the challenges you face in your practice?
Some of the biggest challenges I face are people not understanding the importance of pelvic floor therapy. I think some of this is due to the perpetuated idea that these things are just a part of what happens to a woman, when in reality they might be common but that doesn’t mean we have to deal with them. The other big challenge is I do not accept insurance. A lot of people immediately say “no” to working with me when they hear that because they don’t want to spend the money. However, here is what is often not understood about cash-pay therapy services. When you pay up front, you know exactly how much you are being charged. You get my undivided attention for the entirety of your visit. I can treat your whole body instead of a localized body part. You typically see me for a smaller number of visits then you would an insurance based practitioner. Insurance typically places a lot of limits on what a pelvic floor therapist can do. For instance, some of my clients who are leaking with exercise have issues at their feet/ankles that are contributing. Insurance would deny addressing these parts of the body because they are nowhere near the pelvis. I don’t have to worry about that. Additionally, I have seen numerous clients after they have gone to insurance based practitioners and here is a common theme-they were unhappy with the quality of the care and in the end they received bills (usually months later) that were similar to what I charge and oftentimes more expensive. Just because you are using insurance doesn’t mean the services are “free”. I’m always happy to talk with people before I see them if they have questions!
What do you love about your job?
I just absolutely love being able to help women feel more comfortable and confident in their bodies. It is literally the best feeling in the world. I also love helping women feel less alone, not broken, heard, and hopeful with things that are often deemed TMI.
How do you juggle work and mommyhood?
I definitely won’t say it’s easy! I do my best to always ensure my daughter is getting quality time with me. As a small business owner you could easily spend all of your time finding something to do, but I make sure I’m not always “working” when she is home. She deserves time when she has my undivided attention. Sometimes she also sees me work and I’m okay with that because then she can hopefully learn what a strong work ethic looks like.
What is the best piece of advice you have gotten from another mom?
This is a great question! I think the best advice I’ve been given is to take other mom’s social media posts with a grain of salt. It’s easy to get lost in the comparison game when on social media and you can feel like you’re a terrible mother in lots of ways, but you have to remember that people are only posting what they want you to see…not everything that is happening!
To find out more about Anchor Pelvic Health, please visit the website here!
