Pelvic Health Education for Caribbean Women Today

KITTIAN HILL, St. Kitts – For generations, many Caribbean women have quietly accepted certain physical experiences as part of life.

Leaking when you laugh. Ongoing pelvic discomfort after childbirth. Constipation that comes and goes. Pain during intimacy. These are often spoken about lightly, if at all, and rarely framed as medical concerns. Instead, they are normalized, woven into everyday life, and endured.

Health experts say these symptoms often point to pelvic floor dysfunction, a group of conditions that affect the muscles supporting the bladder, bowel, and reproductive organs.

The numbers are significant.

Research shows that nearly one in four women in the United States experiences at least one pelvic floor disorder, including urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse. Broader estimates suggest that more than one-third of women globally will experience some form of pelvic floor dysfunction in their lifetime. Among women who have given birth, studies indicate that up to half may develop pelvic floor issues within ten years after childbirth.

Despite how common these conditions are, awareness remains low, especially within Caribbean communities where cultural norms have long shaped how women speak about their bodies.

A growing movement is working to change that. At the center of it is a Caribbean-led wellness experience rooted in education and cultural reconnection.

A Retreat Designed to Open the Conversation

From April 3 to 5, 2026, Sunrise & Stillness, a three day women’s wellness retreat, will take place at Belle Mont Sanctuary at Kittitian Hill in St. Kitts.

The retreat is cofounded by pelvic health physical therapist Nadia Mills and St. Kitts based wellness practitioner Anastasha Elliott. It is intentionally designed to bring pelvic health into open and informed conversation, something both women say has been missing for far too long.

“As a pelvic health physical therapist, I have seen how much unnecessary suffering comes from a lack of awareness,” Mills explains. “Many women do not realize that what they are experiencing has a name and that it can be treated.”

The retreat blends pelvic health education with movement, nutrition, skincare, and emotional well being. It creates a space where women can learn about their bodies in a way that feels accessible, supportive, and culturally relevant.

Beyond the sessions themselves, the goal is to create an environment where women feel comfortable discussing topics that have often been avoided.

When Culture Shapes Health

One of the biggest barriers to pelvic health care is normalization.

In Caribbean culture, many symptoms are framed through humor or quiet acceptance rather than medical understanding. Jokes about leaking when laughing or struggling with bowel movements are familiar across generations. From a clinical perspective, these can be signs of pelvic floor dysfunction.

Globally, urinary incontinence affects an estimated 200 million people, with women making up the majority. Studies also show that many women wait years before seeking treatment, sometimes more than six years from when symptoms begin.

That delay is often shaped by cultural expectations.

Caribbean women are widely recognized for their strength and resilience. They are caregivers, professionals, and community leaders. This strength is often celebrated, but it can come at a cost.

“Many of us were raised to push through discomfort,” Mills says. “We were not always taught to check in with our bodies or prioritize our health.”

As a result, symptoms become normalized even when they affect daily life.

Reclaiming Knowledge Through Culture and Care

For cofounder Anastasha Elliott, Sunrise & Stillness is not only about introducing new information. It is also about reconnecting women with knowledge that has long existed within Caribbean culture.

“For generations, Caribbean women practiced healing in quiet ways,” Elliott says. “It was in the teas our grandmothers made, the foods they prepared, and the way they cared for their bodies.”

That understanding of wellness, which connects body, environment, and community, is central to the retreat’s approach.

Held in the natural landscape of St. Kitts, the experience incorporates rest, time outdoors, and space for reflection alongside guided sessions. Rather than focusing on isolated symptoms, the retreat takes a whole body view of health. It recognizes that pelvic function is influenced by posture, movement, stress, nutrition, and emotional well being.

“Our bodies are interconnected systems,” Mills explains. “When women understand that, their symptoms start to make sense and that is where change begins.”

A Space for Women in Transition

The retreat is designed especially for women moving through key life stages.

This includes pregnancy, postpartum recovery, perimenopause, and midlife changes. These are often the times when pelvic health issues become more noticeable. They are also the times when women are most likely to be focused on others.

“Many women spend years caring for everyone else,” Mills says. “At some point, they realize they have not been caring for themselves.”

Through education and reflection, Sunrise & Stillness offers an opportunity for women to reconnect with their bodies, often for the first time in years.

A Growing Caribbean-Led Movement

While Sunrise & Stillness is one event, its founders see it as part of a larger shift across the Caribbean and its diaspora.

More women are seeking information about their bodies. More practitioners are bringing pelvic health into broader wellness conversations. More culturally grounded spaces are emerging to support that learning.

“My vision is for this to become an annual gathering,” Mills says. “A space where women can come together, learn, and feel supported.”

At its core, this movement is about awareness and changing the narrative.

“I want women to understand that their bodies are not broken,” she adds. “Many of the symptoms they experience have explanations, and there are solutions.”

For many Caribbean women, that realization can be life changing.

What was once dismissed as normal is now being understood and spoken about with clarity, knowledge, and care.