New research suggests that moving house during early pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of premature birth. The new paper “Residence change during the first trimester of pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes”, published in Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, sheds light on one facet of the relationship between stress and pregnancy outcomes. I […]
Category: screening
WHO launch of the Checklist for implementation of the WHO 2017 Guideline on the SRHR of women living with HIV
By Sita Shahi, Anandi Yuvaraj, Florence Anam, Sophie Dilmitis, Jenifer Gatsi, Lillian Mworeko, Francine Nganhale, Dorothy Onyango, Assumpta Reginald, Martha Tholanah, Patricia Ukoli, Lucy Wanjiku, Tendayi Westerhof, Rita Wahab, Susan Bewley, Rico Gustav, Bakita Kasadha, Angelina Namiba, Mercy Ngulube, Luisa Orza, Silvia Petretti, Sophie Strachan, Marijo Vazquez, Alice Welbourn, Svitlana Moroz, Olena Stryzhak, Arely Cano, […]
Asking the right question: Why are abortions underreported?
Dr Rachel Scott @rachelhvscott Underreporting Abortions are known to be underreported in surveys. This has important consequences for demographic research. If reporting of abortions in surveys is incomplete, there are knock on effects on other pregnancy data collected in surveys. Conceptions comprise births, miscarriages and abortions; Incomplete data on abortions means incomplete data on conceptions. […]
Book Review: The Gynae Geek by Dr Anita Mitra
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 […]
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 […]