Meet The Founder of SRC - A Q&A With Sinead O'Donovan!

At InHealth.ie, we are proud Irish stockists of SRC Health.

Founded by Sinéad O’Donovan, SRC Health was created with a clear mission: to support women through every stage of motherhood with expertly designed, medically informed garments. As a physiotherapist, Sinéad recognised the lack of effective, comfortable support wear for pregnancy and postpartum recovery and set out to change that.

Her evidence-based approach and commitment to quality have made SRC Health a trusted name among healthcare professionals and mothers alike. Grab your favourite drink as we ask Sinead all of the questions you'd love answered on all things SRC!

How did your nursing and bio-mechanical background influence the design of your first products?

Seeing firsthand how limited traditional ante and postpartum garments were, I realised there was an opportunity to create something that supported the body’s biomechanical needs after birth.

When I first looked at postpartum garments, it was clear there was a big gap. Women were often told to “just wear something supportive,” or in some cases “loose,” but most garments either acted like shapewear, applying excessive compression that can deactivate muscles over time, or provided no real support at all. They weren’t designed to work with the body’s biomechanics, support healing tissues, or help women regain strength. That insight became the foundation for SRC to create garments that actively support the back, pelvic floor, abdominal muscles, and pelvis, helping women recover safely, regain function, and feel confident in their bodies.

The design of the SRC Recovery Shorts, our first garment was built around the idea of targeted medical-grade compression combined with multi-layered anatomical support panels. The goal was to stabilise the back, pelvis; support weakened abdominal and perineal tissues and further reduce strain on the pelvic floor during the critical early weeks of recovery.

From the beginning, the focus was not only aesthetics, but it was also primarily function, clinical outcomes, and comfort for women who needed safer healing.

Can you share some of the biggest challenges during the two-year development of the Recovery Shorts?

One of the biggest challenges was that the fabrics we needed didn’t exist at the time.

We needed a textile that could deliver consistent, medical-grade compression but still remain breathable, flexible, and comfortable enough for women to wear all day and night particularly when they were recovering from birth or surgery.

Another challenge was getting the panel design correct. Small changes in compression placement can significantly change how the body responds biomechanically. We went through many iterations to ensure the garment supported the pelvis, abdomen, and pelvic floor without restricting movement.

It was a long process of testing, refining, and listening to feedback from both clinicians and women.

What lessons did you learn from redesigning the panels and creating your own fabrics?

The biggest lesson was that precision matters enormously when it comes to compression.

Compression is not simply about making a garment tight. It needs to be graduated in the legs, directional, and strategically placed to support muscle groups and joints without causing discomfort or restricting circulation.

Developing our own fabrics allowed us to control the elastic recovery, durability, and compression consistency, which are all critical in medical-grade garments.

It reinforced the idea that if you want to achieve genuine therapeutic outcomes, you often have to build solutions from the ground up.

With the Pregnancy range, were there any unique challenges compared to the Recovery Shorts?

Pregnancy introduces a completely different set of biomechanical changes.

As the baby grows, the centre of gravity shifts, the abdominal wall stretches, and the pelvis becomes more mobile due to hormonal changes. Many women experience pelvic girdle pain, lower back pain, and/or abdominal muscle separation. The pelvic floor is under stress as the baby grows.

The challenge with the Pregnancy range was designing garments that could support the body as it changes week by week, while remaining comfortable and safe for both mother and baby.

We had to create support that relieved pressure on the pelvis, lower back and pelvic floor without compressing the abdomen in a way that would be uncomfortable or restrictive.

How do you see physical and mental wellbeing impact one another for new mums?

Physical recovery can have a huge influence on mental wellbeing after birth.

When a woman is experiencing wound pain, instability, or symptoms like pelvic floor weakness or abdominal separation, it can affect her confidence, mobility, and ability to rest and combined with the sleep deprivation and constant demands of caring for a new baby, this can take a real toll.

For some women, these challenges can also contribute to feelings of sadness or anxiety, making it vital to have supportive people around who can notice the possible early signs of postnatal depression so help can be sought promptly.

When physical symptoms are supported and managed effectively, women often feel more confident, more mobile, and more capable during their recovery, which in turn can have a very positive impact on mental wellbeing.

Supporting the body helps support the mind.

Can you share any stories of women whose recovery or pregnancy experience was positively impacted by SRC products?

Over the years we’ve heard from thousands of women whose experiences have been incredibly moving.

Some women tell us that wearing the Recovery Shorts helped them walk comfortably again within days after birth, when they had been struggling with pelvic instability or abdominal weakness.

Others have shared stories about returning to gentle exercise sooner, feeling supported while caring for their newborn, or simply feeling more confident in their bodies during recovery.

For many women, it’s not just about pain relief, it’s about feeling stable, supported, and able to move again.

Looking back, what are you most proud of in your journey with SRC Health?

What I’m most proud of is that SRC garments have become trusted by healthcare professionals around the world.

From physiotherapists to obstetricians, many clinicians now recommend SRC garments as part of postpartum recovery and pregnancy support.

Knowing that something we developed can genuinely improve the recovery experience for women is incredibly rewarding.

What’s one piece of wisdom you’d like to share with new mums navigating recovery and pregnancy?

Seeing a Women’s Pelvic Health Physiotherapist during pregnancy and early post-partum will significantly help you. They will also be able to help measure you for any of the SRC range of products.

Be patient with your body and give it the support it deserves.

Pregnancy and birth place enormous demands on the body, and recovery takes time. Seeking guidance, using supportive tools when needed, and prioritising healing can make a huge difference in long-term health.

Your recovery matters just as much as your pregnancy.

What makes SRC products stand out compared to other maternity or recovery garments?

Most maternity garments are designed primarily for comfort or shaping.

SRC garments are designed as medical-grade compression garments with a biomechanical purpose. The compression levels, panel placement, and fabric technology are all carefully engineered to provide therapeutic support.

They’re designed not simply to feel supportive, but to actually support the body’s recovery and stability.

How do you decide which features are essential for comfort and support?

We work closely with healthcare professionals and listen carefully to feedback from women who wear the garments.

Features must meet three criteria:

• Clinical benefit
• Comfort for long-term wear
• Durability and consistency of compression

If a feature doesn’t improve recovery, support, or comfort, it doesn’t make it into the final product.

How have your products evolved since the original Recovery Shorts launch?

The original Recovery Shorts set the foundation, but since then we’ve refined our fabrics, improved panel technology, and expanded the range to support women during pregnancy as well as long-term postpartum recovery including incontinence and prolapse which is a significant issue.

We’ve also continued to work closely with clinicians to ensure the garments align with evolving research and clinical practice.

Innovation is an ongoing process.

Are your garments eco-friendly or sustainable in any way?

Durability is one of the most important sustainability factors in garments.

SRC garments are designed to maintain their compression and support over long periods of wear, which means they don’t need to be replaced frequently.

We are also continually exploring ways to improve sustainability in our materials and manufacturing processes while maintaining the performance standards required for medical-grade compression garments

How do SRC garments support both recovery and pain relief?

The garments work through targeted compression which offers biofeedback and biomechanical stabilisation.

By supporting the pelvis, abdominal wall, and surrounding muscles, they help reduce strain on healing tissues. This can improve posture, reduce excessive movement in unstable joints, and provide proprioceptive feedback that helps the body engage muscles more effectively.

All of this contributes to reduced discomfort and improved functional movement during recovery

Are there specific conditions or issues that your products help with more than others?

SRC garments are commonly used to support women experiencing:

• Pelvic girdle pain
• Lower back pain during pregnancy
• Abdominal muscle separation (diastasis recti)
• Postpartum pelvic instability
• Post-surgical recovery and after Caesarean birth
• General postpartum abdominal and pelvic support
• Incontinence and Pelvic Organ Prolapse
• Post any gynaecological procedure-abdominal, laparoscopic or trans-vaginal.

Many clinicians also recommend them as part of a broader rehabilitation approach.

How does SRC Restore complement other SRC products in your range?

SRC Restore is different from typical ante & postpartum garments because it’s clinically designed to support women experiencing urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Its targeted triple layer gusset panel structure gently lifts and stabilises the pelvic floor via proprioception, helping reduce symptoms like leakage or pressure/pain from prolapse

Unlike regular underwear, SRC Restore garments support the internal structures, which can improve function and confidence during everyday movement. Women report being able to move, exercise (run, jump etc), and go about their day with less worry about leaks or prolapse symptoms, making it a truly functional recovery tool.

Are there any new innovations or product ideas in the pipeline?

We are always exploring new ways to support women through all stages of life. We are currently working with POTS sufferers (teenagers, pregnant, post-partum and women who have never had children) and have had very promising results following our Pilot study late 2025. We want to have a truly comfortable garment for this population to wear without struggling to put it on which is common with high compression hosiery.

This includes refining existing garments, developing new compression technologies, and expanding the range to address this and other musculoskeletal challenges women experience pre, during and after pregnancy including women that have never had children.

Our goal is always the same, to provide evidence-based solutions that genuinely improve womens health and wellbeing. 

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