Sex Tech Targets Pelvic & Postpartum Pain
Published 08 November 2023
Sex toys are being repositioned as wellness tools that can help users relax and reconnect with their bodies. Pioneering American start-up Ohnut (soon to rebrand as The Pelvic People) is harnessing these devices to empower women by addressing feminine health issues largely ignored in the mainstream, such as vaginal entry and postpartum pain.
One in seven American women experience chronic pelvic pain, with the issue making up 10% of all gynaecological referrals (Medscape, 2023). To tackle this, Ohnut and Dutch creative Nienke Helder engaged in a year-long research project examining the causes of – and remedies for – pelvic pain.
The research culminated in a new product, Kiwi: an open-ended massager that can be used on sexual organs, as well as the surrounding muscle groups, to release pelvic floor muscles (the leading contributor to vaginal entry pain), stimulate blood flow and promote relaxation. Its novel V-shaped design provides three angles (one narrow, one broad and one curved) for users to apply stimulation to different body parts.
This choice of three ends, along with two motors and four speed settings, gives the device a therapeutic quality by allowing users to advance at a pace and to a level that feels right for them. It can also be used for prenatal perineal stretching and postpartum perineal scar tissue massage to reduce pain during and after childbirth, respectively.
Expanding the functionality of sex toys to address vaginal pain reframes these devices as valuable wellbeing tools that can empower users to take control of their health in a safe environment.