My smear test dilemma: How do I confess that this is my first one, at the age of 41?
It wasn’t a deliberate path of avoidance. It just sort of spiralled
Women's Health
Stories relating to women's health
Heart disease in women: ‘I was so shocked by news of my artery blockage’
Heart disease is the number one killer for women in Ireland – but 80% of it is preventable
Women and girls in the dark on injuries due to lack of gender-specific research
Female-specific studies account for just 6% of sports exercise science research, meaning girls and women do not have enough clarity about how best to avoid certain injuries
Men are deemed more masculine for taking up more space, women more feminine for taking up less
Binary categories hurt everyone, especially those whose natures or physiques are non-compliant
‘When you live with domestic violence, you can never relax – even at nighttime’
The National Gallery offers a safe space for survivors of domestic violence to observe and create art as a way to deal with their trauma
The ‘gender disappointment’ taboo: ‘That’s it, I’m never going to have a little girl’
Parenting taboos: Experiencing gender disappointment is understandable, and parents shouldn’t feel guilty for having those feelings, says expert
‘The public need to be wary’: Elle Macpherson’s breast cancer story missing crucial details, experts warn
Australian supermodel reported to have treated her cancer with alternative therapies
We know that inducing labour early is safe for babies. But is it better for the mum?
Recent study on low-risk first-time mothers induced at 39 weeks who returned home to wait for labour to start criticised by researchers seeking improvements to services
Eleanor Mills: Women aged 45-74 feeling ‘on the scrap heap: you’re not, you’re amazing’
When Eleanor Mills was made redundant on the cusp of 50, she turned misfortune into opportunity
Cocaine and Irish women: ‘I’m a wife. I’m a mother. I have a career. I’m a user’
With the Health Research Board reporting a sharp increase in cocaine use among women, three women describe their use of the drug
No, Irish women don’t need to ‘breed more’. But some would like to have more children
The housing crisis, difficulties of balancing parenting with paid work, declining marriage rates and the limitations of assisted fertility all have a negative effect
Life in your 80s: ‘When I meet my friends, we have the organ recital, where we list our ailments and recount hospital appointments’
Life can be tough as physical health declines, and you can start to feel invisible as you age – but has its upsides
Menopause: ‘We need to swing the pendulum to the middle and normalise it’
New series from the Lancet journal challenges recent trend to medicalize the experience
How to play catch-up on your mini marathon training
Mary Jennings: Start slow, take walk breaks and rebuild your confidence
Managing chronic disease: ‘It is one of the most positive things that has happened in the health service’
Women with gestational diabetes have been added to a ‘game-changing’ HSE programme that focuses on a list of chronic conditions
National Maternity Hospital master Prof Shane Higgins: ‘There are up to 14 women in a ward, separated by curtains. That’s not dignified or acceptable’
The first women to receive State-funded IVF are being referred to the not-for-profit Merrion fertility unit next door to the NMH
How menopause changes the brain and three things you need to know
Symptoms of menopause, such as lack of sleep and hot flushes, have also been linked to dementia
Navigating Your Hormones: ‘It’s so important to educate and empower women with open conversations’
Experts will speak at an educational event on hormonal health for women in the Johnstown Estate Hotel on Sunday
Period Pants: High silver levels could pose health risk, study says
Silver added to combat user concerns about smell and hygiene but it can kill healthy bacteria, says FDA
Iron deficiency: What you need to know – and do – about it
If your iron levels have been determined to be too low, it’s time to ‘stop the leak and fill up the tank’
Big improvement in ovarian cancer outcomes at Mater hospital with aggressive surgical approach
Death rate from advanced ovarian cancer fell through use of multiple skilled specialists, study finds
Women diagnosed with cancer to be allowed pause their maternity leave under new plans
Roderic O’Gorman says he will reverse law that does not allow women receiving treatment to pause leave
Claire Dinsmore on perimenopause: ‘Make this phase your power years’
The Women’s Podcast with Róisín Ingle
Breast cancer screening ‘doesn’t make much of a difference’ to death rates, says oncologist
Ireland should screen women for the disease on the basis of risk not age, says expert
Hot flash trackers and pelvic floor exercisers: the rise of femtech for menopause
A wave of new tech products and supplements is being developed to help menopausal and perimenopausal women, and Irish start-ups are getting in on the act
Medical conditions affecting women have always run the danger of being marginalised
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders only in 2013
Could your prime still be ahead of you? 13 peaks we reach at 40 or later – from sex to running to self-esteem
You are more likely to win an ultramarathon in midlife, get happier, wiser and more body confident as you age
How a woman’s posture changes over time is dependent on several factors
Posture management is important to improve mobility, boost confidence and energy and reduced risk of injury
‘Metastatic breast cancer remains mostly incurable and I honestly thought I was going to die’
Dubliner Siobhán Gaynor recovered from her intial shock to focus on improving the lot of cancer patients
Give Me a Crash Course in ... womb transplants
Surgeons in Oxford have carried out the first womb transplant in the UK on a woman (34) whose donor was her sister (40)
Alice K Ladas obituary: Author of influential and controversial ‘G-spot’ book
Her book sold more than a million copies and was revolutionary in helping women understand their sexual function
Do you know what menorrhagia is? Unfortunately, I do
Many women suffer from this extreme menstrual condition. No one should suffer its excess bleeding, pain and debilitation without seeking medical help
Labiaplasty: a normal, safe procedure or a western form of female genital mutilation?
Women who seek this surgery usually want a reduction in the size of their vulva’s inner labia
‘Cliteracy’: The ‘iceberg’ of female anatomy has as-yet hidden depths
Why lack of knowledge about a sexual organ persists
Rachel E Gross: ‘You can go back to any era and find the ways the clitoris was dismissed, misunderstood or ignored’
The Women’s Podcast with Róisín Ingle
‘I was like, I don’t know how sick you have to be, but I am pretty sure I’m there’
Specialist clinic validates ‘misunderstood’ pregnancy complication of hyperemesis gravidarum
Extreme pregnancy sickness hyperemesis gravidarum: What you need to know
‘Morning sickness’ is part of a normal pregnancy, but hyperemesis is not
Cecelia Ahern on perimenopause: ‘This hot angry woman was coming out’
The Women’s Podcast with Róisín Ingle
Ireland’s fertility revolution happened later but more rapidly than in other western countries
Priests and politicians enthused about Ireland’s large families, ignoring the consequences for women
Most women diagnosed with early breast cancer ‘will survive long-term’, study finds
Reassurance for patients as death rate from breast cancer has fallen substantially since the 1990s
Why are Ireland’s breastfeeding rates stubbornly low?
Available evidence suggests a combination of social and cultural factors at play
Coercive control is about power - but there’s more to it than that
The ultimate threat perceived by these abusers is that the partner being controlled will meet somebody else, thus engineering their escape
‘Women bought into so many sex, libido myths they’re disempowered about this part of themselves’
Women often live with symptoms for years before seeking medical help due to fear, shame or taboo about sex, menstrual health and reproductive health
The secrecy of . . . mental health
Social and emotional demands on women impact their mental health throughout life
‘Period poverty’ is a misleading term that gets bandied about. I think it has become very, very trendy
If a woman can’t buy period products, it’s just one aspect of her poverty as she will be struggling to buy all basic necessities, from food to fuel
Polycystic ovarian syndrome: ‘There’s more information on outer space than there is on the reproductive system of a female’
PCOS is a common, and often painful, condition affecting one in five women of childbearing age that has no cure but there are treatment options
Women’s healthcare group Amara Therapeutics raises €3m
Galway-based group will use funds to widen market for overactive bladder health app and develop new products for other conditions
The secrecy of . . . infertility
Low self-esteem, devaluing, and inferiority can create a level of self-blame for women experiencing infertility
Having endometriosis in Ireland is a nightmare. We are being left to languish
It’s a common disease, and pain is the main symptom. Making codeine painkillers prescription only will exacerbate the problem
Breast cancer: ‘The way I see it, my new bra is half full, not half empty’
On my first trip to the Breast Clinic of the Mater, the doctor said the results were ‘suspicious and concerning’
Women being sacked due to pregnancy ‘more common than you think’, says employment lawyer
Some 100 women contact employment law firm every month about pregnancy-related discrimination, Seán Ormonde tells webinar
The secrecy of . . . contraception
Better education for young people on reproductive health will help support the dismantling of sexual stigma
The secrecy of . . . periods
Discussion around menstruation is often negative, leaving girls to begin their cycle under a shroud of secrecy
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