In February 2022, UPMC Magee-Womens Specialty Services opened a new Women's Center for Bladder and Pelvic Health at UPMC Passavant–McCandless.

Are you suffering from a leaky bladder? Getting up to use the bathroom several times a night? Having pelvic pain?

If you live north of Pittsburgh, we’ve got good news. You don’t have to drive all the way into the city to have these conditions treated.

What Is Urogynecology?

Urogynecology combines two specialties — urology and gynecology. Its focus is on problems of the pelvic floor, often caused by weakness or stretching of the pelvic floor muscles. Typical conditions are leaking urine, pelvic pain, vaginal bulge, and urinary tract infections.

“Unlike typical urology practices, we only see women,” says Megan Bradley, MD, a provider at the UPMC Magee-Womens Center for Bladder and Pelvic Health. “We can offer individualized care for a range of pelvic floor issues. It’s a nice balance between the specialties.”

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Who Can Benefit From Urogynecology Care?

People may think of pelvic floor problems like incontinence as a “problem of aging,” but that’s not always the case, Dr. Bradley says.

“We see women in all phases of adulthood, and we even treat teens,” she says.

Many women have urine leakage and pelvic pain after childbirth. Others experience problems as they age. No matter what your age or life experience is, you should get checked out if you sense something isn’t right.

“We want to normalize that it’s okay to seek care,” Dr. Bradley says. “You shouldn’t think ‘Oh, leaking urine is just part of having kids,’ or ‘My mom had it, so I have it, too.’

“There’s no shame in coming in early if you have these issues,” she adds. “Many women we see have had symptoms for years and think it’s just something they have to deal with.”

Conditions We Treat

Providers at the Center for Bladder and Pelvic Health treat women for various conditions, including:

  • Emptying disorders — difficulty urinating or moving bowels.
  • Fecal incontinence — loss of bowel control or leakage of feces.
  • Fistulas — abnormal holes between the vagina and rectum, urethra, or bladder.
  • Pain disorders — discomfort of the pelvis, bladder, and/or urethra.
  • Pelvic organ prolapse — when the uterus, bladder, or rectum descend or push into the vagina. It’s sometimes called a “dropped” uterus, bladder, or rectum.
  • Stress incontinence (SI)— urinary leaks from coughing, laughing, or sneezing. Many women who’ve been through childbirth suffer from SI caused by a weakened pelvic floor.
  • Urge incontinence — also called overactive bladder, it’s a frequent, urgent “gotta go” feeling.
  • Urinary tract infections — common infections of the bladder and urinary tract.

Services We Offer

The clinic boasts a wide range of diagnostic services and in-office procedures. Some of them are:

  • BOTOX® for bladder leaks — in-office BOTOX® treatments often can calm an overactive bladder.
  • Cystometry — measures how much urine your bladder can hold.
  • Cystoscopy — a procedure to view the inside of your bladder.
  • Urodynamic studies — tests that show how well the bladder works. They can also indicate where leakages or blockages are.

If you have a condition that requires surgery, our providers operate in the north at UPMC Passavant-McCandless and UPMC Passavant-Cranberry.

Our Expert Providers

Our providers are part of UPMC Magee-Womens Specialty Services, a large, well-established provider of women’s health care in Pittsburgh. They include:

A Women’s Health Clinic, Closer to Home

UPMC Magee-Womens Specialty Services opened a Center for Bladder and Pelvic Health at UPMC Passavant-McCandless. “It’s a full-service clinic for bladder and pelvic floor problems,” says Dr. Bradley. “We offer complete clinical evaluations, diagnostics, and treatment under one roof.”

The center features large, modern offices, easy access, and ample free parking.

Dr. Bradley is excited about the expansion services for those who live or work in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh. That includes women in northern Allegheny, Beaver, and Butler counties.

It is the only clinic in the area dedicated to urogynecology.

“We already had a presence in the area with UPMC Magee-Womens Specialty Services in Cranberry,” she says. “The McCandless office will allow even more access to care for women in the northern Pittsburgh suburbs. We have multiple providers here Monday to Friday.”

The opening of this center is a continuation of UPMC’s commitment to advanced women’s health care in the north, which has included expanding care and services at both UPMC Passavant campuses, the UPMC Lemieux Sports ComplexUPMC Outpatient Center in Hampton, and in Butler.

The Center for Bladder and Pelvic Health is located on the first floor of UPMC Passavant-McCandless at 9100 Babcock Blvd.

The Center for Bladder and Pelvic Health also has clinics in the following locations.

  • Bethel Park.
  • Butler.
  • Clarion.
  • Delmont.
  • Ebensburg.
  • Erie.
  • Franklin.
  • Hermitage.
  • Irwin.
  • McKeesport.
  • Meadville.
  • Natrona Heights.
  • Oakland (UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital).
  • Somerset.

To make an appointment at the clinic, call 412-641-7850 or schedule online.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on , and was last reviewed on .

About UPMC Magee-Womens

Built upon our flagship, UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, and its century-plus history of providing high-quality medical care for people at all stages of life, UPMC Magee-Womens is nationally renowned for its outstanding care for women and their families.

Our Magee-Womens network – from women’s imaging centers and specialty care to outpatient and hospital-based services – provides care throughout Pennsylvania, so the help you need is always close to home. More than 25,000 babies are born at our network hospitals each year, with 10,000 of those babies born at UPMC Magee in Pittsburgh, home to one of the largest NICUs in the country. The Department of Health and Human Services recognizes Magee in Pittsburgh as a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health; U.S. News & World Report ranks Magee nationally in gynecology. The Magee-Womens Research Institute was the first and is the largest research institute in the U.S. devoted exclusively to women’s health and reproductive biology, with locations in Pittsburgh and Erie.