FAQ
What is a Mummy MOT?
A Mummy MOT is a postnatal physiotherapy assessment covering posture, breathing, abdominal muscle separation, pelvic floor function and how your body is coping with the demands of a new baby. At Octopus Clinic it is a 60-minute appointment costing £135, and it produces a specific exercise programme rather than general advice.
When should I have a Mummy MOT after giving birth?
Around six weeks after delivery is the usual starting point, once the initial healing phase has passed and after your GP check. It is still worthwhile months or years later — many women come with symptoms that began after a birth several years earlier, and pelvic floor and abdominal function respond to training at any stage.
What is a Menopause MOT?
A Menopause MOT is a 60-minute assessment at £135 looking at how perimenopause and menopause are affecting your musculoskeletal and pelvic health — joint and muscle pain, bone loading, pelvic floor changes, bladder symptoms and exercise tolerance. It results in a specific strength and activity plan for this stage of life.
Can physiotherapy help bladder leaking?
Yes, and it is the recommended first-line treatment. Supervised pelvic floor muscle training resolves or substantially improves stress urinary incontinence in most women, and works better with a physiotherapist assessing the muscle directly than with self-directed exercises, because a large proportion of people contract the wrong muscles when unsupervised.
Is leaking urine when I cough, run or sneeze normal?
It is common but it is not something you have to accept. Leaking under pressure indicates the pelvic floor is not managing the load, which is a treatable muscle function problem rather than an inevitable consequence of childbirth or age. Most cases improve significantly with a properly supervised programme.
What is abdominal separation and can it be fixed?
Abdominal separation, or diastasis recti, is a widening of the gap between the abdominal muscles during pregnancy. Most narrows naturally in the months after birth. Where it persists, the priority is restoring how the abdominal wall generates tension rather than closing the gap itself, which is what determines function and appearance.
Do I need to see a specialist women’s health physiotherapist?
For pelvic floor, postnatal and menopause-related problems, yes. Internal assessment and pelvic floor rehabilitation require specific post-registration training that not every physiotherapist holds. Octopus Clinic’s women’s health appointments are delivered by physiotherapists with that specialism.
Is women’s health physiotherapy covered by insurance?
Often, yes. Octopus Clinic is a registered provider for Bupa, AXA PPP, Nuffield Health and Aviva. Postnatal and pelvic health physiotherapy is covered by many policies where there is a referral and an authorisation code, though cover varies and some policies treat it as a maternity benefit with its own limits.