What is Stress Urinary Incontinence?
Nearly 23 million American women experience symptoms of stress urinary incontinence (SUI): involuntary urine loss caused by everyday occurrences like sneezing and coughing, as well as fitness activities that involve jumping and running. SUI results from stretching and/or weakening of the pelvic floor muscles that support the bladder and urethra. Risk factors include high-intensity athletics, vaginal childbirth, chronic cough, prolapse, obesity, and aging. Despite the prevalence of SUI, most women think urinary incontinence simply “comes with the territory” of being a woman and fail to invest much time or energy into treatment options; fewer than a third ever discuss their symptoms with a healthcare provider.
Although many effective SUI treatments are available, most women default to convenient, widely available incontinence pads. Non-surgical solutions include pelvic floor exercises, prescription pessaries and disposable bladder supports. For too many women, though, existing treatments remain either unfamiliar, inconvenient, or too unaffordable. Thus, there remains a critical, unmet need for a better overall solution.
Liv Labs, Inc. aspires to help millions of women discover convenient relief. We have developed a prototype reusable pessary and have begun clinical research to confirm its safety, efficacy and usability.
