Introducing the OWN Project: Expanding Pelvic Floor & Doula Care
In March, OWN Your Pelvic Health turns five! I’ve spent five years listening to women’s stories, attending births, and bearing witness to how deeply pelvic floor symptoms and life transitions live in the body. And five years of holding a tension I’ve never been able to ignore: the people who most need this care are often the ones least able to afford it. That tension is why The OWN Project now exists.
Why OWN Has Been Out-of-Network for Pelvic Floor & Doula Care
From the very beginning, OWN Your Pelvic Health was built as an out-of-network practice, not to be exclusive, but to be ethical. Insurance-based care often limits:
How long we can spend with a client
What and how we can treat
How many visits are “allowed”
Whether care can be preventative instead of reactive
Pelvic floor therapy and birth support are not checkbox services. They are relational & require time, nuance, education, and individualized care.
I wanted a practice where:
Sessions aren’t rushed
Education and proactive care are prioritized
Care is guided by clinical reasoning - not billing codes and sh*tty reimbursement
Providers are supported, not burned out
That philosophy has allowed OWN to deliver the depth and quality of care our clients deserve. But it has also meant saying “no” to people who needed support and couldn’t access it financially.
The Importance of Access to Pelvic Floor Therapy & Doula Care
Five years in this profession is not long - I still feel like a baby therapist. But despite this short amount of time, I have watched thousands of women normalize pain they were never told wasn’t normal, be dismissed and gaslit during pregnancy and postpartum, struggle with bladder, bowel, sexual, and pelvic pain issues in silence, be told to “wait it out” or “that’s just part of motherhood.”
Women’s health is still underfunded, under-researched, and under-supported. Education is inconsistent. Access is so uneven. And high-quality, preventative care is often framed as a luxury, when it really should be foundational. Pelvic floor therapy and doula care aren’t “extras.” They are healthcare.
What the OWN Project Does for Women’s Health Access
The OWN Project is a nonprofit created to expand access to the same high-quality pelvic floor therapy and birth doula care provided at OWN Your Pelvic Health, without compromising the care model.
Our mission is rooted in Optimal Wellness and Nourishment, not just physically, but emotionally, educationally, and systemically.
Through the OWN Project, we offer:
Need-based scholarships for pelvic floor therapy
Financial assistance for birth and postpartum doula services
Care delivered by experienced providers in a trusted clinical setting
A process rooted in dignity, not shame or justification
This model allows us to meet people where they are, without asking providers to discount their work or compromise care quality.
Who the OWN Project Serves
The OWN Project exists for people who:
Fall into the “in-between”: making too much to qualify for assistance, but not enough to afford out-of-network care
Are navigating pregnancy, postpartum recovery, pelvic pain, fertility, or major life transitions in a time of financial instability
Want evidence-informed, compassionate care but face financial barriers
It also exists for donors who believe that women’s health outcomes improve when access improves.
The OWN Project’s Next Steps in Pelvic Floor & Doula Care
By working in direct partnership with OWN Your Pelvic Health, scholarships support real treatment plans with our team of trauma-informed, expert pelvic health therapists and doulas.
The OWN Project is just getting started.
Our long-term vision includes expanding scholarship availability, offering education in schools and community spaces, continuing to advocate for systemic change in women’s health access.
But for now, we’re starting where the need is loudest, and where we can make an immediate, meaningful impact.
Support Women’s Health Access Through the OWN Project
If you’re reading this and thinking:
I wish this existed when I needed it
I want to support women accessing better care
I believe health equity starts locally
There are two ways to engage:
Apply for a scholarship through The OWN Project
Donate to help fund care for someone who otherwise couldn’t access it