Women launch digital platform to 'break taboos around female health'

From left to right, Emma Ross, Dr Bella Smith and Baz Moffat have launched The Well HQ

Three women are hoping to break taboos around female health in relation to fitness through a new digital platform.

Former British rower Baz Moffat, Dr Bella Smith and former Olympic sport scientist Emma Ross want to help women "train with and not against their bodies".

Breast support, pelvic floor muscles, urinary incontinence, menopause and periods will all be covered.

Dr Smith, of Woodbridge, Suffolk, said sport science revolves around men.

She said: "There's this huge gap in understanding about how menstruation, and all different factors, affect a woman's ability to train and perform."

Ms Moffatt said when sport and training is based on male physiology, female health is "overlooked"

The platform, called The Well HQ, provides information and webinars on its website and through its social media platforms.

Dr Smith, a GP at Little St John's Surgery in Woodbridge, said it was aimed at supporting active women of all fitness levels and ages - from puberty to the menopause.

Girls often drop out of sport because of "inadequate breast support", she said, while others could improve their performance by understanding their menstrual cycle.

Dr Smith, who is the founder of The Digital GP website, met Ms Moffat through a mutual friend and they "hit it off straight away" and started doing menopause workshops together.

Ms Moffat, who competed for Great Britain at World Rowing Championships in 2006 and 2007, later made contact with Ms Ross.

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She said she knew they could "create something really special together" as all three women shared "fundamental beliefs around the female body and all came with a love of science yet had worked with thousands of real women".

The idea for the platform was born a year ago and the trio have been working on it "non-stop" since. They have also written a book which will be released in March.

Dr Smith said The Well HQ was for all age ranges and any fitness level

Ms Moffat, who lives in London, said best-practice in sport and training was "overwhelmingly based on male physiology" while "minor details such as vaginas, breasts and the menstrual cycle" were often overlooked.

She said they hoped to bring "taboos and stigmas into the mainstream, helping women train with and not against their bodies".