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 […]
Tag: research
40 years of innovation in sexual and reproductive health
WHO – 40 years of innovation in sexual and reproductive health A comment piece in The Lancet by past and present directors of WHO’s Human Reproduction Programme (HRP) discusses the achievements of the Programme since it was established in 1972. Online First – Evaluation of a community pharmacy delivered oral contraception service “Anything for the […]
Fertility Issues
IVF twins: buy one get one free? (Mittal) (published online 18 July) The aim of IVF treatment should be to achieve a full-term singleton birth. This article explores the tensions that exist between IVF provision and the elective single embryo transfer (eSET) policy. The authors present a balanced contemporary review describing why twin pregnancies are […]
SRH News from American Journals
Effectiveness of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception From the New England Journal of Medicine: A large (7486 paticipants) prospective cohort study, by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, to evaluate contraceptive methods has found dramatic differences in their effectiveness. Women who used pills, the patch or vaginal ring were 20 times more likely to […]
Another flawed database analysis of VTE risk and hormonal contraceptives
Lidegaard O, Nielson LH, Skovlund CW, Lokkegaard E. Venous thrombosis in users of non-oral hormonal contraception: follow-up study, Denmark 2001-10 BMJ 2012;344:e2990 doi: 10.1136/bmj.e2990 (Published 10 May 2012) This is basically a companion paper to the one published last year in the BMJ, which concentrated on the Pill and was comprehensively criticised in the January […]
NHS flouts national guidance on contraception as cuts bite:
new audit reveals shocking truth as 3.2m women face restrictions in access to contraceptives or services A new audit of the commissioning of contraceptive and abortion services in England has revealed a stark picture of inequality in women’s healthcare, with a third of women of reproductive age unable to choose from the full range of […]
The UK Sexual Health Awards 2012 winners announced
The celebration, hosted by Nitin Ganatra (Eastenders), to mark the hard work and dedication of people involved in sexual health across the UK took place at Troxy, London. Celebrities, including Janet Ellis, Zoe Margolis, Sharon Marshall, Johnny Partridge and our own Susan Quilliam and Alison Hadley were in attendance to show support and present awards to: […]
Faculty News
Amendments to FSRH Guidance Documents: Drug Interactions and Emergency Contraception Drug Interactions (2011): Page 9 of the original version of this CEU Guidance Document (issued in January 2011) incorrectly stated that the interaction between lamotrigine and combined hormonal contraception (CHC) only applies to lamotrigine monotherapy. CHC also reduces lamotrigine levels when lamotrigine is combined with […]
Bits and Pieces
Consultation to lift ban on HIV-positive doctors and dentists: according to media reports last week the DH is set to launch a consultation on lifting the ban imposed 20 years ago. Many believe the ban to be discriminatory, no longer justified on public health grounds and ignored in most hospitals who reportedly have a ‘don’t […]
COC / VTE Controversy continues
Following publication of the extended analysis of the Danish Cohort Study on VTE risk (with combined oral contraceptives with different progestogens and oestrogen doses) in the BMJ and the rapid responses since, Shapiro S and Dinger J have now produced a Commentary for the January 2012 edition of the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive […]