Women are working longer into their pregnancies and often returning to work sooner than ever before — and the effects of carrying a child can have a direct and lasting impact on not only their health, but their ability to perform at work. An expanded pelvic health benefit program from digital platform Hinge Health is looking to help employers provide much-needed support throughout the transition.
According to the Department of Labor, women make up almost half of the workforce in the U.S., and 85% of them will become mothers during their careers. Of these, research says that 75% will experience musculoskeletal disorders (MSK) including pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). Along with pregnancy, catalysts of PFD can include weight, advancing age, and overuse of the pelvic floor muscles. The condition can result in symptoms that are painful, embarrassing and chronic, and for many women, can become severe enough to cause missed work.
"One in four women has a pelvic floor disorder at some given point of time, and that increases as women age, during pregnancy, and postpartum," says Inessa Lurye, head of women's health at Hinge Health. "This is not a niche condition that impacts a sliver of the population."
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Hinge Health first introduced its Women's Pelvic Health program in 2022 as a way to offer comprehensive pelvic care on one platform. Now, it has initiated four new clinical experiences catering to the female population of its 25 million members. In order to cover the unique needs of every kind of PFD, program creators have honed in on support for symptoms related to pregnancy and postpartum, bladder control, pelvic pain and pelvic strength. Once a patient is assessed, their experience pathway is determined and they embark on a customized care plan.
The idea behind developing four different experiences came from the need to meet women where they are on their health journey, and make sure that the care they receive yields the best results. Early data on program outcomes shows an average pain reduction of 66%, average symptom reduction of 29% after just three weeks of care, and an average symptom reduction of 55% after 12 weeks.
"We have had hundreds of members go through the experience, and we very quickly saw that we needed to create defined and customized clinical pathways for the broad categories of pelvic health care," Lurye says. "Each of these allows us to care for the full continuum of all pelvic health care, but it does so in a way that is clinically relevant and tuned to the needs of each specific population."
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Putting emphasis on the overall
"The conversation around benefits and what's expected has shifted recently," she says. "It's really a holistic discussion around, 'How is the employer able to support me to do my best work in an equitable way?' You're able to get as soon as next-day care from a pelvic floor therapist that's licensed to perform in your state, and you can do that from wherever you may be with your phone. The virtual care aspect is revolutionizing time savings and access."
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By providing quick, private healthcare options that allow employees to get ahead of medical conditions that are not just extremely personal, but will only become more severe with time, employers stand to see great outcomes for both themselves and their workforce.
"There's a huge care gap in our ability to treat the needs of women during these critical life stages," she says. "That impacts our productivity and our ability to be our best selves at home and at work. And that's really important from the employer perspective."
