Review by Louise LC Turtle Studying a diagram of the vulva on a train is less discrete than scrolling her Instagram page, @gynaegeek, but this is what I found myself doing. I was drawn in by the familiar female voice that reads like a Dolly Alderton column. Sipping my turmeric latte – it’s her favourite […]
Category: screening
Barriers, Facilitators and Improvements to Abortion Care
by Jodie Smith In 2017 we celebrated 50 years since abortion was legalised in Great Britain under the 1967 Abortion Act, putting an end to the unsafe back-street abortions that were causing high frequencies of maternal death and severe morbidity. In these 50 years, there have been numerous clinical developments in abortion care, including the […]
Perforation Following IUD Insertion
by John Reynolds-Wright and Rebecca Heller We all know perforation is a recognised risk of IUD insertion. However, that doesn’t make it any less upsetting for either the clinician or the patient. It is often not recognised at the time it occurs and can go unnoticed for weeks, if not months. This can be […]
The Emotional Journey of My Decision to Undergo Risk-Reducing Surgery
By Clarissa Foster, Author of ‘Understanding BRCA’ After learning that I carried a harmful BRCA2 gene mutation, I needed to make the decision on how I would manage my increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. For a very brief moment, I considered the possibility of doing nothing at all – after all, I […]
Services for Sex Workers in London
By Millie Davies Access and engagement with healthcare among vulnerable groups is a particular interest of mine. Supervised by Professor Helen Ward from Imperial College London School of Public Health, and veteran in the field of sex workers services, I focused my Global Health BSc project on the identification of current sex worker services in […]
Physiological versus Synthetic Oestrogens for Bone Mineral Density in Premature Ovarian Insufficiency
By Eileen Chen My interest in female reproductive health and fertility led to this research project with Professor Jane MacDougall at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, to help guide treatment options for premature ovarian insufficiency. What is premature ovarian insufficiency, and why is it important? Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a loss of ovarian function before the […]
Screening for Trans People
This week, transgender patients have been encouraged by NHS England to enroll themselves in screening programs suited to their physiological sex, rather than their preferred gender. Currently in the UK patients are invited to sex-specific screening programmes (breast cancer, cervical cancer, abdominal aortic aneurysm) by their GP according to their registered gender. For many trans people, this is […]
Early menarche linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease
(and so are early menopause, pregnancy complications and hysterectomy) Women who started their period before the age of 12 have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke in later life, suggests a study published in Heart today. Early menarche is one of several reproductive risk factors (as well as early menopause, pregnancy complications and […]
Devolution and Termination of Pregnancy: Principles and Practice
The British Parliament is currently debating the Scotland Bill within the House of Lords, legislation that is designed to expand the powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. Within this Bill, is the proposal to revoke the segment which prohibits Scotland from making legislation about abortion, essentially making this a devolved matter, as it […]
Organisation Focus: National Ugly Mugs Scheme
Some readers may already be familiar with the National Ugly Mugs Scheme, an initiative which started life in Australia in 1986, developed by a collective of sex workers to circulated descriptions of people that they had encountered, or situations that they had been in, which had been dangerous. Sex workers have an increased risk of […]