Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) is a very common condition suffered by 1 in 3 women globally and yet, as sufferers, even today, we largely suffer in silence. SUI, commonly referred to as Light Bladder Leakage (LBL), is a common result of childbirth and is triggered when women cough, laugh, sneeze or exercise. Many women are affected by SUI for decades, and yet are still reluctant or embarrassed to speak out, most often continuing with traditional pads or opting for surgery (most often midurethral sling, sling surgery, and mesh surgery).
One of my closest friends for over 30 years suffered from SUI, as did I, and we never once spoke of it despite discussing almost everything else in our lives. She even had multiple surgeries to try and address her stress urinary incontinence and after 8 years she was still experiencing leaks. Today, both of us are successful users of Uresta bladder support and wish that we would have simply opened up about this issue years prior and been empowered to find better solutions for ourselves. Like so many other women, she could have avoided surgery altogether.
I first heard of Uresta bladder support and met its inventor, urogynecologist Dr. Scott Farrell, when a former colleague introduced us for a potential marketing consulting engagement. I immediately realized what an extraordinary product I had just been introduced to and quickly rallied a group of women entrepreneurs that I knew would be interested in investing in the business. Whether they had SUI or not, they all knew women who did, and recognized the terrible stigma and embarrassment associated with stress urinary incontinence. It was clear to us from day one that Uresta introduced a new sense of empowerment to female SUI sufferers that was safe, comfortable, effective, non-invasive, and affordable. Gone were the days of uncontrolled leaks, urine, odour, wet pads and avoidance of outings with friends and family. While traditional pessary devices for treating SUI have been around for decades, Uresta was one of kind in that it is a self-managed pessary. Women can easily remove or insert Uresta, unlike other pessary devices which need to be removed, inserted and cleaned by a physician multiple times a year. Uresta offers the self-managed aspect of pads but the elimination of leaks and odour offered by a pessary – offering the ultimate bladder support for women.
Today, Uresta continues to be a game changer in female incontinence and our Company’s efforts are focused on building awareness regarding SUI and letting women know a better solution than surgery, traditional pessaries and pads exists. Whether women are in their 30s or 60s, they truly need to know an amazing option exists that will allow them the quality of life and empowerment they deserve. Our goal is simple, to educate and inspire a growing community of women everywhere to stop allowing bladder leaks to hold them back from anything!
As women entrepreneurs, we understood our approach to market needed to be credible, relevant, thoughtful, and informative, while also being bold, direct, and disruptive. It has taken decades for women to even admit they suffer from SUI and that they deserve credible options to live their best “life without leaks”. Our conversations are multi-faceted with the goal of reaching all possible influencers, to ensure the compelling story of Uresta reaches healthcare professionals, insurers, advocate groups and most importantly women, that on average will be affected by SUI at some point in their lives.
Our shareholder group continues to be comprised of a number of successful and influential women; the chair of a top Canadian bank, CEO of a renewable energy company, lead partner for a global consulting firm, division head of a global pharmaceutical company, and many other successful professionals and entrepreneurs. These champions of Uresta recognize the need for change and that women’s health globally, has been underfunded for decades.
In early 2021, I retired as Uresta’s CEO and remain an active board member, shareholder and proud advocate for Uresta and women’s health. As part of this transition, we were excited to bring on our new CEO, Lauren Barker, a bright accomplished young female leader who will help grow consumer awareness and introduce Uresta to more women than ever before.
Today’s generation of women boldly advocate for their own health and are far less embarrassed to admit they suffer from conditions such as SUI. Massive change is happening, lets be bold together.
