Women’s health in physiotherapy degree programs across Europe prepares graduates to assess and treat conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, pelvic floor dysfunction and the female reproductive system across the lifespan. As a subject, women’s health is a growing clinical component in physiotherapy degree programs across Europe, reflecting increased recognition of pelvic and obstetric physiotherapy as a distinct area of practice. According to the European Commission’s mapping of physiotherapy education, women’s health appears in the curriculum of 24 out of 28 surveyed countries as a clinical sciences subject, with a similar pattern in interventional skills training.
Where Women’s Health Is Taught Within Physiotherapy Degree Programs Across Europe
Women’s health appears in most European physiotherapy curricula, though universities structure it differently depending on national regulation and programme length. In some countries it stands as a dedicated clinical subject with matching interventional training; in others, it remains partially integrated into broader musculoskeletal or internal medicine modules.
- Italy, Netherlands and Romania: The only surveyed countries that do not include women’s health — neither as a clinical sciences subject nor as an interventional skill — in the minimum entry-level curriculum. That said, students in these countries may still encounter pelvic and obstetric cases during broader clinical placements or postgraduate specialisation.
- Slovakia: Teaches women’s health as an interventional skill but does not include it as a distinct clinical sciences subject.
- Cyprus: Includes women’s health as a clinical sciences subject but does not require it as a distinct interventional skill.
- France, Belgium, Poland, Luxembourg (300 ECTS master’s level): Students study women’s health in greater depth, covering advanced pelvic floor rehabilitation, obstetric physiotherapy and postpartum recovery protocols.
- Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland: Universities integrate women’s health closely with musculoskeletal sciences and internal medicine, often reinforced through clinical placements in maternity and community healthcare centres.
What Pelvic and Obstetric Physiotherapy Training Covers
This subject builds on musculoskeletal sciences and connects closely with rehabilitation. Overall, most European programs cover the following core areas:
- Pelvic floor anatomy, function and dysfunction
- Physiotherapy management of pregnancy-related musculoskeletal conditions
- Postpartum recovery and diastasis recti rehabilitation
- Urinary and faecal incontinence assessment and treatment
- Pelvic pain and menopause-related physiotherapy care
Clinical Placements and Competence in This Field
Pelvic and obstetric conditions affect a large proportion of women across all life stages, making women’s health an increasingly important area of physiotherapy practice. Therefore, dedicated training in this field carries growing weight in the women’s health component of physiotherapy degree programs across EU/EEA countries. Graduates apply their theoretical knowledge directly with patients during clinical placements, most commonly in maternity wards, community healthcare centres and private practices. In addition, this clinical exposure works alongside competences already covered under rehabilitation and pain medicine, since pelvic and postpartum conditions frequently require both functional recovery and pain management strategies.
Countries Where This Subject Is Included in the Physiotherapy Curriculum
Women’s health forms part of the minimum entry-level curriculum in most surveyed countries, with Italy, the Netherlands and Romania as exceptions. Slovakia and Cyprus follow a partial pattern, covering the subject only through one of the two training routes.
*Cyprus covers women’s health as a clinical sciences subject but not as a distinct interventional skill. Slovakia shows the reverse pattern: women’s health is covered as an interventional skill, but not taught as a separate clinical sciences subject. Italy, the Netherlands and Romania are not listed above, as none of the three countries includes women’s health in either form within the minimum entry-level curriculum.
If you are exploring where to study, browse our country guides to compare access requirements, ECTS credits and clinical placement structures for each physiotherapy degree program in Europe.
