As World Health Day 2025 focuses on maternal and newborn health with the theme “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures,” Physiopedia Plus (Plus) highlights the critical role that physiotherapy education plays in improving outcomes for mothers and babies worldwide through our comprehensive women’s health courses.
World Health Day, celebrated on 7 April each year, brings global attention to critical health issues. The 2025 theme “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures” initiates a year-long campaign addressing maternal and newborn health, aiming to reduce preventable deaths and enhance women’s long-term wellbeing. This resonates deeply with the mission of Physiopedia and Plus to improve global health through accessible rehabilitation knowledge.
The statistics are sobering, nearly 300,000 women lose their lives due to pregnancy or childbirth annually, while over 2 million babies die in their first month and another 2 million are stillborn. That translates to approximately one preventable death every 7 seconds. Based on current trends, 4 out of 5 countries will miss targets for improving maternal survival by 2030, and 1 in 3 will fail to meet targets for reducing newborn deaths.
Physiotherapists play a vital role in addressing these challenges. It is estimated that one in three women worldwide live with some form of pelvic health concern that significantly impacts their physical function, psychosocial wellbeing and overall quality of life. These conditions span multiple areas including gynaecology, urology, obstetrics, pain science and orthopaedics.
The Plus Women’s Pelvic Health Programme provides rehabilitation professionals with essential knowledge to support women before, during and after pregnancy. The programme consists of six comprehensive courses covering key topics from pelvic floor anatomy and physiology to postpartum considerations. Additionally, Plus offers several specialised courses that directly facilitate healthy beginnings and hopeful futures for mothers and babies, including Diastasis Recti Abdominis and Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction, Pregnancy and Postpartum Considerations in the PGM Method, and “Vital Breastfeeding Questions Every Healthcare Provider Should be Able to Answer.
“Pelvic health physiotherapists are integral to helping women restore their pelvic health and function, which directly impacts maternal wellbeing and birth outcomes,” explains Tarina van der Stockt, Plus Education Director “Our courses equip rehabilitation professionals with the knowledge they need to better serve women throughout their reproductive journey.”
The Women’s Pelvic Health Programme is designed for both practitioners new to women’s pelvic health and those working in other contexts who want to better serve female patients. The courses provide a foundation for understanding when collaboration with a women’s pelvic health physiotherapist may be appropriate, fostering a more integrated approach to care.
This educational initiative aligns perfectly with World Health Day 2025’s goals to raise awareness about gaps in maternal survival, advocate for effective investments in women’s health, encourage collective action and provide useful health information relating to pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.
Rehabilitation professionals looking to enhance their skills in supporting postpartum recovery can benefit from several evidence-based courses on Plus, including Facilitating Return to Exercise Postnatally, Rehabilitation Considerations for Return to Activity and Exercise Following a Caesarean Section, Current Guidelines and Recommendations for Postnatal Exercise, and Practical Methods for Scar Mobilisation in Caesarean Section Recovery. These courses provide practical knowledge that directly supports women during the crucial postnatal period.
As we observe World Health Day 2025, Physiopedia and Plus remain committed to improving maternal health outcomes through education and knowledge sharing. By equipping rehabilitation professionals with specialised pelvic health knowledge, we contribute to the global effort to ensure that every woman and baby not only survives but thrives. Join us in supporting maternal health by exploring our Women’s Pelvic Health Programme and these specialised maternal health courses, and sharing this valuable resource with colleagues worldwide.
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