In this episode of Bits of Me, I talk to Kath Sansom, whose life was changed overnight when she had a TVT mesh implant to help with minor incontinence issues. Kath explains how the controversial mesh implants have ruined lives by causing auto-immune issues and chronic pain and cutting through organs like the bladder, bowel and vagina, and shares her own experience of going from super fit to chronically in pain and deciding to set up a campaign to do something about it.

Follow Kath's project Sling the Mesh on Instagram at @slingthemesh and on Twitter at @MeshCampaign, where you'll also find Kath herself as @kathsansom, and search for the same on Facebook to find the support group.  Bits of Me is on Instagram as @bitsofme_podcast and on Twitter as @bitsofme_pod. If you like the podcast, please review and subscribe, and if you know someone who could do with listening to this particular episode, please share it with them.

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.

#bitsofmepod #womenshealth #womensbodies #mesh #meshsurgery #meshimplant #vaginalmeshimplant #vaginalmesh #tvt #tvtmesh #incontinence #hernia #herniamesh #meshscandal #prolapse #pop #pelvicorganprolapse #SUI #surgicalmesh #slingthemesh #kathsansom #womenshealthcare #feminism

In this episode of Bits of Me, I talk to Carly Bailey, a mother of two smallies and activist on social, economic and feminist issues including housing, education and repeal. She is now a Social Democrats councillor on the South Dublin County Council. Carly has PCOS and endometriosis and struggled to conceive. In this episode, she shares her experience of trying different medications, going through IVF, suffering miscarriages and eventually having her babies. She also talks about the birth injury she ended up with, the post-natal depression that followed, and the reasons why, despite everything she's been through, she can relate to the decision of having an abortion. 

You can follow Carly on @CarlyEBailey_ on Twitter, on Instagram at @carly_bailey_ or on Facebook, where there's a page for Cllr Carly Bailey. Bits of Me is on Instagram as @bitsofme_podcast and on Twitter as @bitsofme_pod. If you like the podcast, please review and subscribe, and if you know someone who could do with listening to this particular episode, please share it with them.

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.

#bitsofmepod #womenshealth #womensbodies #PCOS #polycysticovarysyndrome #polycysticovaries #endometriosis #pregnancy #birth #childbirth #miscarriage #babyloss #pregnancyloss #thirddegreetear #birthinjury #birthtrauma #IVF #infertility #TTC #postnataldepression #abortion #repealedthe8th #repealthe8th #womenshealthcare #feminism

In this episode of Bits of Me, I talk to Gillian Roddie, an Innovation Program Manager, Learning Specialist and mother of two. She is also the brain behind @evidentiallyyou on Instagram, previously Science Snaps on Snapchat, a platform where she discusses everything from biology and immunology to feminism, mental health and contraception. 

I asked Gillian to join me for a chat after she ran a few polls on Instagram Stories, discussing body hair and beauty treatments, including Botox. I recalled a conversation we'd had about a year previously about body image and motherhood, and how a combination of the signs of ageing and a body marked by pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding can be a tricky cocktail to navigate. The result is a chat about unrealistic beauty ideals, the challenges of growing up governed by them, the shock of realising what pregnancy and birth do to your body, and the lengths we go to to feel OK in our own bodies. We also ponder whether you can use Botox and call yourself a feminist, whether there's a limit to the amount of time and money one can spend trying live up to the unobtainable ideals of the patriarchy, and how we can support each other through this struggle.

For endless important, impressive and fun information from Gillian, go follow @evidentiallyyou on Instagram. Bits of Me is on Instagram too, as @bitsofme_podcast, and on Twitter as @bitsofme_pod. If you like this episode, please share it on your socials as well as with friends who don't use social media and might miss out. Reviewing the podcast on iTunes and subscribing on Spotify also really helps. It only takes a minute but is really, really appreciated!

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.

#bitsofmepod #womenshealth #womensbodies #ageing #diastasisrecti #pregnancy #mumpooch #mompooch #postbirthbody #motherhood #bodyhair #shaving #botox #beautytreatments #disorderedeating #bulimia #eatingdisorder #bodyimage #feminism #equality #equalpay #glassceiling #womensrights #parenting #beautyideals #beautynorms 

In this episode of Bits of Me, I talk to Kim Hanly, a computing student and mother of two. A cervical cancer survivor and the founder of Cervical Cancer Awareness Ireland, she shares her story of getting bad news from a smear, the scans and treatments that followed, and the journey to recovery and beyond. Kim explains what all the various different tests entail and recalls what it was like to spend time in hospital following surgery, chatting to other women, especially older ladies. She also shares the difficult moments, from getting 'the call' and telling her father to welcoming her kid to hospital for the first time and waking up in absolute agony after surgery. 

Cervical Cancer Awareness Ireland is on Facebook and Twitter, where you'll find plenty of helpful information as well as the contact details if you need help or advice. If you've had an abnormal smear, are going through treatment for cervical cancer, or have symptoms you worry might be bad news, you can request to join CCAI's private Facebook group, where you can be sure to get plenty of support. Kim also has her own, personal Twitter account. 

Bits of Me is on Instagram as @bitsofme_podcast and on Twitter as @bitsofme_pod. If you like the podcast, please review it on iTunes and subscribe on Spotify, and if you know someone who could do with listening to this particular episode, please share it with them.

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.

#bitsofmepod #womenshealth #womensbodies #cervicalcancer #cervicalcancerawareness #gynaecancer #fuckcancer #incontinence #periods #femalepain #bleeding #abnormalbleeding #infertility #smeartest #smear #hpvvaccine #bladdertrauma #cystitis #hysterectomy #radicalhysterectomy #menopause #earlymenopause #prematuremenopause

From hot flushes and vaginal dryness to anxiety and a distinct lack of joie de vivre, the menopause can bring about all sorts of struggles for women from as early as their late 30s. In this episode of Bits of Me, I talk to divorced mother of two, Loretta Dignam, who is the Founder and CEO of The Menopause Hub in Dublin, Ireland's first and only clinic dedicated to helping women who are going through the menopause. Loretta shares her experience of 'the change', explains why she decided to set up a clinic to help other women, discusses the myths and attitudes surrounding this key stage in women's lives, and explains the various symptoms and treatments. 

You can follow The Menopause Hub on Instagram at @menopausehub or visit their website, www.themenopausehub.ie, where you'll find loads of useful information as well as symptom checkers, fact sheets and more. Bits of Me is on Instagram too, as @bitsofme_podcast, and on Twitter as @bitsofme_pod. If you like the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes and subscribe on your choice of podcast platform. Know anyone who would enjoy this particular episode? Please share it with them!

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.

#bitsofmepod #womenshealth #womensbodies #motherhood #feminism #themenopause #menopause #thechange #midlife #vaginalatrophy #vaginaldryness #anxiety #depression #moodswings #HRT #hormonereplacementtherapy #oestrogen #estrogen #hotflushes #osteoporosis

What's it like to be a single woman at 40, and to think you want kids but know that you don't want to go it alone? What are the obstacles to motherhood for a single woman in Ireland, the expectations that make being single and childless tricky, and the other aspects of life as single at 40 that might make you "aggressively identify as single"?

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.

#bitsofmepod #womenshealth #womensbodies #motherhood #feminism #singleat40 #lifeassingleat40 #singlewomanat40 #childlessness #involuntarychildlessness #singleandchildless #repealedthe8th #repealthe8th #wombtalk #housinginireland #sharedliving #coliving #motherandbabyhomes #magdalenelaundries 

In this episode of Bits of Me, I talk to pastry chef and mother of two Tracey Bourke, who has suffered from urge incontinence for most of her life but also ended up with pelvic organ prolapse after having a hysterectomy. We talk about what it's like to constantly manage the fear of wetting oneself, how difficult it is to get the help you need to manage life with prolapse, explaining to your boss why long days on your feet are suddenly quite the challenge, and much more.

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.

#bitsofmepod #womenshealth #womensbodies #pelvicorganprolapse #pop #cystocele #hysterectomy #menopause #bladderpain #urgeincontinence #incontinence #urinaryincontinence #pelvicpain #pelvicfloordysfunction #childbirth #birthinjury #birthtrauma 

In this episode of Bits of Me, I talk to Sarah Rose McCann, a freelance writer from Belfast who has been struggling with bladder pain for almost as long as she can remember. We talk about her coping mechanisms as a child, including developing anorexia to distract herself from the pain; the ongoing struggle to be taken seriously by healthcare practitioners; the Instagram community that helped her get a diagnosis; taking the wedding savings to cover the cost of surgery in England; playing pain detective during sleepless nights, and much more.

You'll find Sarah on Instagram @mypelvicpain, where she shares information and feelings on her own journey as part of a large and very supportive endometriosis community. Sarah encourages anyone suffering from symptoms that may be linked to endometriosis to message her for advice or contact the Endometriosis Association of Ireland on www.endometriosis.ie or @endoireland on Instagram.

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.

#bitsofmepod #womenshealth #womensbodies #endometriosis #endo #endoawareness #endometriosisawareness #hormones #bladderpain #uti #cystitis #interstitialcystitis #pelvicpain #pelvicfloordysfunction #stressincontinence #bowelpain #fibromyalgia #anorexia #eatingdisorder  #painfulsex 

In this episode of Bits of Me, I talk to Social Democrats councillor and soon-to-be mother of three, Catherine Stocker. Catherine struggled with depressive and psychotic episodes through her teens and was misdiagnosed as bipolar. We talk about the medical trouble-shooting in those early years, the 'aha' moment when Catherine realised what was really going on, the logistics and cost of travelling to England for care, the issues with trying to get diagnosed and cared for at home, and the stigma surrounding PMDD, also known as severe PMS.

You'll find Catherine as @CatzStocker on Twitter, where she mostly tweets about politics. Bits of Me is on Instagram as @bitsofme_podcast and on Twitter as @bitsofme_pod. If you like the podcast, please rate, subscribe and review, and if you know someone who could do with listening to this particular episode, please share it with them.

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.

#bitsofmepod #womenshealth #womensbodies #PMDD #severePMS #PMS #premenstrualdysphoricdisorder #hormones #periods #femalepain #depression #mentalhealth #pregnancy #mentalhealthstigma #feminism #postnataldepression #motherhood

In this episode of Bits of Me, I talk to teacher and sexual health advocate Denise McAlister, who is using her own experience of living with a long-term STI to open up the conversation about sexually transmitted infections, the stigma that surrounds them, and the reality of living with one. She shares her experience of finding out that she had genital warts, explains why she decided to start disclosing her status to partners, talks us through the myths about herpes and other STIs she wishes people knew weren't true, and much more.

You'll find Denise on Instagram as @LetstalkSTIs and on the Facebook page Let's Talk STIs, where she educates and is exceptionally generous with herself and her time, including to those who are diagnosed with an STI and want advice or an ear to bend.

If you like Bits of Me, please rate, subscribe, and give it a quick review, and do spread the word among friends if you can! You can follow the podcast on @bitsofme_podcast on Instagram or @bitsofme_pod on Twitter.      

Music: Ice and Snow by Icreage, licensed by Soundstripe.