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 […]
Category: screening
Norethisterone and its acetate – what’s so special about them?
Emilia Huvinen, Elina Holopainen, Oskari Heikinheimo @e_huvinen @OHeikinheimo Synthetic progestins are commonly used for a wide spectrum of conditions along a woman’s life. They are essential in the daily work of doctors treating women of all ages – both general practitioners and gynecologists. Indications stretch from contraception and postponing menstruation to treatment of heavy uterine […]
The COVID-19 lockdown and meeting women’s reproductive health needs online
By Emma Rezel-Potts, Melissa J Palmer, Caroline Free, Paula Baraitser The lockdown measures issued by the UK government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have transformed all aspects of healthcare delivery, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH). Remote and online solutions, that were already developing as alternative options to some traditional, face-to-face SRH services, have […]
Ensuring personalised care for pregnant women during COVID-19
During a period of lockdown where many of our basic freedoms have been limited, the autonomy and safety of pregnant women can easily be overlooked. In a blogpost last week, Anna Nelson and Chloe Romanis discussed concerns raised about the availability of home birthing during the COVID-19 lockdown. I spoke with Sarah Noble, Head of […]
Pregnancy Planning Apps May Be Inaccurate: Expert Responses
Many popular fertility and pregnancy planning apps may be inaccurate, suggest the results of a scoping review of the available evidence, published online in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health. Period tracking apps were downloaded at least 200 million times in 2016 alone. However, the review if 18 papers reported that many apps seem to have […]
Limits on gay men’s blood donations reduced in USA
The FDA (Food and Drug Authority) issues guidance on who can donate blood. During the crisis supply has dropped so there is a need to increase donor numbers. In response, the FDA has changed the rules for men who have sex with men. Previously FDA guidance demanded a 12 month deferral period between sex (for […]
Covid-19 and Abortion Update: Approval Order for England Made
This evening the Department of Health and Social Care issued an approval order enabling women in England to have early medical abortions at home during the Covid-19 crisis. The provisions affect women seeking abortions before 10 weeks, allowing them to take both pills for early medical abortion at home. The approval also allows doctors to […]
International Surrogacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Anna Nelson @Anna_Nelson95 This blog examines the implications of the current COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen unprecedented restrictions placed upon citizens across the globe, for international surrogacy. It concludes that while the pandemic does indeed pose some novel issues – such as the potential for babies born to surrogates who live abroad during this […]
COVID-19 and Remote Access to Abortion Care: An Update
Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, Jordan Parsons and Nathan Hodson Today, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that a temporary change in the law allowing women in England to access abortion entirely remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The approval order allows women to be prescribed abortion medications remotely and take both early medical abortion medications […]
We failed to meet HIV treatment and family planning goals for 2020: now what?
By Erin Rogers, MPH; Kristin Wall, PhD; Rob Stephenson, PhD Although several international stakeholders, including the United Nations and Family Planning 2020, led the fight to end the HIV and unintended pregnancy epidemics across low and middle-income countries by 2020, we fell short of recognizing these goals. Our recent editorial in BMJ Sexual and Reproductive […]