Our Story
The backbone of WEBD
Following the birth of my first child, despite the fact that I was strong and fit, I experienced severe back pain which continued for over a year. Managing the 24/7 relay of work involved in caring for my baby made me think about better ways to undertake manual childcare work. As a result, I designed a range of ergonomic alternatives to common parenting accessories.
During my time in business, I communicated with hundreds of women and began to see a pattern of childcare work and equipment related back pain issues. Amazingly, there was almost no helpful research, and I came to realise there was much to be understood about pregnant and postpartum women and the implications for back pain and injury.
I came to realise there was much to be understood about pregnant and postpartum women and the implications for back pain and injury.
An Idea
After completing a Bachelor of Science at UWA I undertook postgraduate research delivering a MSc thesis, “Manual handling in childcare work: components of back injury risk during the task of nappy changing”. This work involved measuring biomechanical forces on the lower back of pregnant and non-pregnant women when performing lifting tasks common in childcare. The research findings were enthusiastically received by examiners but for me, the outcomes created more questions.
In 2020, I completed PhD research “Women, Ergonomics & Back Disorder: How home-based childcare work may augment the risk of lower back disorder in pregnant and postpartum women”, at the University of Western Australia. This study broke new ground in that we examined the relationship between female hormones, spinal joint laxity and the influence on lower back strength and function; crucial elements contributing to the understanding of childcare work and heightened risk for lower back disorder in 80% of women.
