By Kate Grindlay Read the research papers here and here. In 2021, two progestin-only oral contraceptive pills (POPs) were approved in the UK as “pharmacy medicines,” becoming available without a prescription. Efforts are also currently underway to make a POP over the counter (OTC) in the United States, with an application under review at the […]
Category: screening
Menstrual blood: no longer just a waste product
By Dr. Sara Naseri, Dr. Ryan Brewster and Professor Paul D. Blumenthal For decades, glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) has been the diagnostic and prognostic standard for primary management of diabetes mellitus (DM).1 It serves as an index of long-term glycemic control and a predictive indicator of preventable micro- and macrovascular complications, making routine monitoring an essential […]
What constitutes a ‘positive’ contraceptive experience?
By CERT (Contraception Education Reform Team) CERT (Contraception Education Reform Team) are a student-led policy research group based at the University of Edinburgh. We aim to improve contraceptive care and education for all contraceptive users through research and policy-based change. Our research team, comprising of multidisciplinary university students from across the UK and Europe, was […]
Action to reduce maternal health inequalities
By Dr Shohaib Ali More than one quarter of the 600,000 babies born annually in England and Wales are to mothers from ethnic minority groups. The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths showed that in 2016-18, compared to their white counterparts, the rate of women dying during up to one year after pregnancy is more than […]
IPV during pregnancy has negative implications on maternal and neonatal health
by Vithya Murugan @vithyamurugan Defined as a systematic, repetitive pattern of manipulative behavior used in order to gain and maintain power and control over a current or former partner/spouse, intimate partner violence (IPV) includes physical, sexual, psychological and/or financial abuse. Each year in the United States, 7 million women experience IPV.1 The experience of IPV […]
BDSM Consent in Non-BDSM Sex
By Kayla Beare In a post-#MeToo world, the need for a clear-cut and comprehensive definition of sexual consent has become a topic of conversation for many. The BDSM community is often said to be ahead of the curve in having this conversation, and there is much that can be learnt from this community. BDSM, an […]
Hormones and Lesbians: What We Still Don’t Know
by Catherine Meads With all the talk of love drugs and sex hormones influencing how people feel and behave, or even who they love or feel that they are (for example, in cross-sex hormone trans debates), we thought it would be worthwhile re-examining the evidence on differences of sex hormones in female sexual orientation. Our systematic […]
The ethics of State-sponsored and clinical promotion of long-acting reversible contraception
By Dr Jeffrey Wale & Professor Sam Rowlands, Bournemouth University @rowlands999 @bournemouthuni Global responses to the Covid-19 pandemic offer a good opportunity to re-examine the role of State actors (policymakers, regulatory bodies, clinical commissioning groups, service providers) and healthcare professionals in the promotion of health-related behaviours. Just how far should healthcare professionals go in promoting, […]
Understanding the new normal: your chance to submit evidence to the Inquiry into Access to Contraception
By Dame Diana Johnson DBE MP The ‘new normal’ is a phrase we’re hearing a lot at the moment. The Cross-Party Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health in the UK needs you to help shape a ‘new normal’ for access to contraception after the pandemic. We were formerly the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Sexual and […]
Vaginal Examinations, Consent & COVID-19
By Anna Nelson (@Anna_Nelson95) As with all aspects of the NHS, a number of changes have been enacted in the operation of maternity services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many of these changes are important and justifiable in order to protect the safety of pregnant people, maternity staff and newborns, it is […]