The FAbM Base Podcast FAbM Base

Did you know that almost any physical therapist can call themselves a pelvic floor physical therapist, but not all are equally equipped?

In this short bonus episode, Mary interviewed Dr. Jenny Porter, a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor, to learn what qualifies physical therapists to treat different pelvic floor issues. How can you know whether or not your PT is equipped to help you?
*We apologize for the audio issues during this episode on our end! Dr. Jenny's audio sounds good.

1. Physical Therapy is a doctoral degree that takes 6-7 years to complete. Less than two hours is spent on the pelvic floor during that entire time.

2. Specific continuing ed courses are required to gain expertise in treating the pelvic floor.

3. Herman and Wallace and APTA are companies that offer the best/standard training courses for physical therapists who plan to treat the pelvic floor.

4. Level 2 training is required to treat sexual dysfunction, and postpartum, bowel, and male issues. Level 3 is required for the complicated neurological and congenital issues.

5. Your pelvic floor physical therapist (PFPT) that is equipped to treat you for sexual dysfunction is not necessarily qualified to treat you during pregnancy/postpartum, and visa versa.

6. Almost any physical therapist can claim that they are a pelvic floor physical therapist. There is no regulating body for PFPT yet - only physical therapy.

Listen to the episode to hear the questions Dr. Jenny Porter asks other pelvic floor PT offices to figure out if they are qualified to treat specific issues and for Jenny's tips on how to find help if you don't have the right kind of PT near you.


You can find Dr. Jenny Porter at Pivotal PT & Wellness in Mandeville, Louisiana.

Previous podcast episode interviews with pelvic floor physical therapists:

Co-host of the Hormone Genius Podcast, founder of the Fiat Institute, and Creighton Practitioner, Jamie Rathjen, M.A., FCP joined Emily and Mary to explore her new (and pretty amazing) hormone coaching program, which fills the gap between your fertility awareness instructor and your physician. There are lifestyle factors and nutritional insights that these pros just don't have the time, or knowledge in many cases, to address. This is where your hormone coach comes in! So far, Jamie has trained about 30 incredible women (a mix of Creighton & FEMM instructors, PAs, DOs) to serve you in this space! Jamie also explained how stats on birth control influenced her work.


Find Jamie: www.hormonegenius.com, www.fiatinstitute.com, www.guidingstarproject.com

Instagram: @fiat_institute, @hormonegenius

To become a hormone coach: Fiatinstitute.com

To receive hormone coaching: email contact@fiatinstitue.com or visit Fiatinstitute.com/directory

Charting for Mary had really good moments. Her Creighton chart revealed a lot about what was going on in her body and that was really helpful to her physicians and for her to understand some pretty intricate details about her health. However, because it revealed how dysfunctional her body was and trended worse over time, it got really hard. The meds, supplements, and doc appointments got hard, too. Pregnancy tests really messed with her mind, but you'll learn in this episode why she had to continue to take them.

Is there a healthier way to approach charting? Restorative reproductive medicine? Our relationship with infertility? Why doesn't pregnancy heal the wounds of infertility? Emily interviews Mary to find out.



Mentioned in this episode:
Twelve Stripes Deep: How Infertility & Other Suffering Delivered My Greatest Joys: Bruno, Mary: 9798986425801: Amazon.com: Books

So you've found our amazing website at fabmbase.org, but you're also feeling like there is a ton of info. Where do you start? Keep your eyes peeled for a series of bonus episodes that will help you to maximize your time navigating our website and get the most out of it for your individual needs.

This first one will help you or someone you know to use our website to find the method that fits best (there are two ways!!), get all relevant info to help you access the method websites and materials you'll need, and find solidarity!

WATCH and listen to this episode on YouTube so you can see how Mary navigates the website with her shared screen as she explains each detail.

⁠⁠Fabmbase.org⁠

Well, it's no secret that we have a deep appreciation for the benefits of charting our cycles, but let's be real - sometimes it just sucks! Charting is more than putting marks on the paper or app and making observations. It has an effect on life and life has an effect on it and Emily's story illustrates this really well.

In this episode, Mary interviews Emily about her expectations about sex going into marriage, how that played out, the pressure of needing to avoid a pregnancy, sharing the responsibility, the mental health importance of finding the right method for each individual woman, and when Emily wanted to stop charting.

One of the biggest struggles for infertile women is how to navigate a wide range of emotions around close friends and family members. Many women who haven't personally experienced infertility have the same concerns and want to know how they can care for their loved ones' hearts. How do I share my pregnancy with her? How will I manage being around friends and family with pregnancies? How can I show her I care? Emily and Mary understand how difficult this can be because they have personally experienced it in their friendship, and sort of accidentally discovered how to do it well. Tune into this episode to learn how.



Discussed in this episode:
Twelve Stripes Deep: How Infertility & Other Suffering Delivered My Greatest Joys: Bruno, Mary: 9798986425801: Amazon.com: Books